One thing leads to another
by SunniGummi
Summary: Another bad day in the life of Maddie Cullen. Making the wrong decisions and having a mind-reading brother is not a good combination. Not good at all. Warning: spanking/ cp of an eternal teen
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my second story, which takes place in the Twilight-Universe and includes Maddie again. It takes place a couple of weeks after my first story.**

**This time, I try to make the chapters longer, hope you like it! **

**I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does (as you all know, of course)!**

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><p>Maddie was lying on the couch in the living room, flipping through the pages of a magazine, probably belonging to Alice. One of her legs was propped up against the backrest, while the other one was dangling from the couch. She was comfortable, even though it looked kind of twisted.<p>

Jasper had entered the living room and was now standing in front of his little sister. "Carlisle wishes to speak with you in his office," he said.

"I didn't do it, I swear!" It bubbled out of her and her eyes were as wide as they could possibly go.

A wave of nervousness, rolling off of Maddie, suddenly hit him. "What are you talking about?" he asked, eyeing her sceptically.

"Nothing! What are you talking about?" she replied nonchalantly, the nervousness that had popped up mere seconds ago was fading again.

"Carlisle is waiting for you, so I suggest you make your way upstairs now," Jasper reminded the girl.

"What does he want to talk about?"

"You will find out in a moment, won't you?" He knew exactly what the talk would be about after having just left Carlisle's study. But since he did not want to argue with this little brat right now, he kept it to himself.

"Meh." And with that said, she continued to flip through the magazine.

"I told you that he is _waiting_." Now he grew impatient.

"Yeah? I don't care. He can wait a while longer, because I don't feel like walking upstairs right now," Maddie stated petulantly.

Of course everyone would interpret this behaviour as disrespect, which wouldn't exactly be a wrong conclusion, but the real reason was: She was scared of her dad's office. The room scared her after everything Emmett had told her about it.

He had said that Carlisle would use it for the most severe punishments and that you have to bend over the desk and then it would go on for hours. With a special strap that could damage vampire skin. Emmett had also said he had gotten it twice already and that he couldn't sit for a whole week afterwards. The scars still hurt whenever the weather changes, he said.

Well, there was a tiny possibility that he just wanted to take the piss out of his little sister ... but she decided that avoiding that room couldn't hurt. Literally.

Plus she was constantly in trouble and did not know what Carlisle had found out now. Maybe he got a call from school? Or Alice saw something that she was going to do? Or he had found out that she ripped two of her schoolbooks to shreds because she hated studying? There were several options, probably even some she did not just think about.

And then he would stare at her over his huge mahogany desk, with his folded hands resting on top of the smooth surface. No no, she was better off staying in the living room ...

A couple of minutes passed until Carlisle's voice sounded down the staircase.

"Madeline, where are you?"

Since he did not sound angry, she called up to him that she was downstairs.

"Sweetie, come now. We need to talk."

But still, she thought, her father might be angry anyways, just not showing it - a very clever move.

When she did not rise after another minute, he called again. "You are not in trouble, if that is what's taking you so long."

All right. Now she got up and walked up the stairs into her dad's office.

Carlisle was sitting behind his desk, just like she knew he would. Why he had a leather couch in his office was beyond her, because it was never used.

"Take a seat."

So she did.

"You might not know, but next week is your mother and I's wedding anniversary," Carlisle informed his youngest.

Okay ... did he expect her to congratulate or what was this about?

She looked at him, her eyes unblinking.

"For that occasion your mother and I decided to go on a journey," he went on.

"Where to?"

"Paris. Esme loves that city dearly."

"Okay, for how long?" Maddie liked the news, so she rushed her father to spill it all.

"A week."

"And when are you going?"

"Next Friday."

A small smile appeared on his daughter's lips. Now he had to smile, too.

"Yes sweetie, your old parents are leaving the country for a week. Still, your siblings are staying, and that means I want you to listen to them and behave."

"Isn't that a bit unfair? It's five against one, Dad!"

Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. _Why did this girl always assume everything concerning her was unfair?_

"Nobody is planning on making you miserable, dear. And we left Jasper in charge, so you -"

"_Jasper? !_ Hell, are you _nuts_? !" Maddie interrupted him.

"Madeline, do not yell at me, I can hear you just fine. And do not swear, please, I am warning you."

"_But why him_? Choose Rose, or Emmett!" Maddie would always prefer these two. She was closest to them, trusted them more than anyone else in the family.

"I will not change my decision. He is, after me, the eldest in this house. And I think your relationship will benefit from this situation. Give it a try, sweetheart," her father explained.

"But he hates me!"

"Madeline! How can you say something like that? Your brother does not hate you, it is quite the opposite actually. He is concerned about you and your well-being. "

"My ass," the girl muttered under her breath, but Carlisle heard it anyways.

"Let me warn you one more time: Any more profanities and you will face consequences, am I clear?"

"Yes, sorry." She looked away for a moment, before looking back up at her father. "But the moment you will shut the door behind you, he will beat me to a bloody pulp, Dad!"

Carlisle chuckled. His daughter's imagination was running wild again. "Maddie, Jasper would never harm you in any way. And for your information: None of your siblings is allowed to punish you physically. They may send you to your room though."

She was not convinced, he could tell.

"If the situation occurs that your behaviour is not acceptable, I will be informed and will make a decision once your mother and I return. All right?"

"Yeah." She smiled a little. "Daddy, why didn't you choose Rose or Emmett? I don't understand." Maddie really wanted to know.

"Like I just told you, I think the situation of Jasper being in charge might be beneficial for your relationship."

"Why is it so important to you?" Who cares if she got along with Jasper?

"We are a family. Trust and reliability are vital, and it seems to me that you are undecided whether or not you can trust him," Carlisle explained.

"And you can't force me," stubborn Maddie replied.

"Of course I can't. But I would really like for you to just try."

"I'll think about it." And then she added quietly, "... even though he's an ass."

_Oops._

Her last comment made Carlisle stand up and walk around his desk towards her. Grasping her by the upper arm, he pulled her out of the chair and against the desk, which made her slightly bend over. "I warned you," he said, and she immediately started begging. "No! Please, I'll be good!"

But that was obviously to no avail, because his hand came cracking down on her behind several times. Then he let her up again.

"Ow Dad!" she said while rubbing her butt, "I told you I'll be good!"

"Yes, and I just reminded you to keep your word. Now sit back down so we can finish our conversation."

"Uhm ... do I have to?" she asked. His smacks hurt, the chair was pure wood - you do the math!

"It'll do you good. And now sit." Carlisle walked around his desk again and sat down in his chair.

Maddie gingerly lowered herself onto the hard wooden chair. Leave it to Carlisle to make someone suffer...

"Madeline, since your mother and I will be gone during the week, one of your siblings will take you to school and pick you up afterwards. So please be ready on time in the morning."

"Sure," she replied and looked around the room. Normally Carlisle would take her there before he went to work, and sometimes he would even pick her up after school. But mostly Edward did, when Carlisle was still at the hospital.

"Can I have a pet?" Maddie suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Excuse me?" He was perplexed by the sudden change of topic.

"Can I have a pet, Daddy?" she asked again, her golden eyes looking questioningly up at him.

He frowned. "Sweetheart, where is that coming from?"

"We don't have any pets," Maddie explained and shrugged her shoulders.

"You are right, we don't." Carlisle nodded his head.

"So ... can I?" She tried again with wide eyes.

"I would love to grant you your wish, but you have to understand that animals do not fancy our presence very much."

"But I fancy their presence very much." Sometimes her father had a very weird way of framing an answer ... must be his age.

"Madeline ...," he sighed.

"Fine, no pet." She still had a mother she could ask at a later time.

Just as Maddie thought the talk was practically over and she more or less survived Carlisle's office, Esme shouted down the stairs. "Madeline, what happened here? !"

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><p><strong>There you go! And even though it is the first chapter, somebody managed to get in trouble anyways! Feel free to take a guess at what Esme has found ...<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry guys! I so wanted to update sooner since the chapter was already finished, but I'm busy with school and me and my boyfriend broke up and ... you get the idea.**

**Plus I had to change some parts ... Carlisle was being so mean! Gosh, what's wrong with him? I mean, he is OOC in my stories, but that was a bit much. Anyways, enjoy the second chapter!**

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><p><em>Just as Maddie thought the talk was practically over and she more or less survived Carlisle's office, Esme shouted down the stairs. "Madeline, what happened here?"<em>

Shouted _down _the stairs, as in: She was upstairs.

And what was upstairs? Edward's room, bathroom and of course - _Maddie's_ room.

Dammit.

Carlisle looked questioningly at his daughter, but she just shrugged her shoulders and got up from the chair. Well, Maddie had either left the bathroom in the worst state ever, or her mother found the shredded books in her room.

Probably the latter.

_Oh no._

Maddie made her way upstairs, followed by, _surprise surprise!_, her father. So it would be two against one again.

They walked into Maddie's room and saw Esme looking at the ground. Carlisle was confused, because he did not see anything unusual in here. But since the bed was blocking his vision, he walked around it and came to a stop next to Esme. There, between the bed and Maddie's balcony door, were about a thousand pieces of paper that had not been visible from the other side of the room.

Carlisle kneeled down to read some of the words written on the shreds, then said, "Madeline? Explain what this is all about, please."

At least she had several options now: run, lie or confess.

She chose the second best ... or the second worst: She was prepared to lie her ass off.

"What do you mean?" she asked in a neutral tone of voice.

"Come over here and look at that," Esme ordered. Maddie walked over to her parents and looked at the ground. Yep, there was no way anyone could have overseen this, she would have to be more careful hiding things in the future. She was so sure she had stuffed everything under her bed, but with so many open windows in this house - you never know.

"What happened?" her father demanded.

Now panic built up in Maddie. They wanted an answer and she just didn't know what to say without getting in trouble.

Silence.

_More_ panic.

For your information, panic and Maddie wasn't a very good combination, because almost always clever and not so clever ideas suddenly shot into her head. The thing was: she could not make out which was what.

_Could she use her ability on two persons at the same time? _... now that thought made her curious.

Luckily she was standing in between Carlisle and Esme, so it was ridiculously easy to grab both their hands at the same time and quickly say, "Edward ripped my books on purpose. But you two came to clean it up, so get on with it."

They stared right ahead, unblinking. Wow, maybe she should have concentrated a little more - they looked like zombies! But eventually they knelt down and slowly started picking up the white and black shreds of paper.

Relief washed over her, but unfortunately it did not last long. Edward's door was forcefully opened and music could be heard now. Maddie's older brother stormed into her room, looking furious. He took in the sight before him then yelled, "_What is wrong with you? !_ Make it right, _now_!"

As if they did not hear anything, Carlisle and Esme went on cleaning up. _God, they were slow!_ That would take at least an hour!

"Uhm, Edward, let us wait -," she started to say, but he interrupted her before she could finish her nonsense.

"- so they can go on cleaning up your mess for you? Make it stop, _right now_!"

He was beyond angry. And now Maddie wondered who else was home ...

"Rosalie and Emmett are in their room and will be coming up soon, so I suggest you set things right before then! ... And don't even think about it!" he added, when he read her thoughts.

_Okay ... no meddling with Edward's brain today, fine._

(Not that she could ever do it to him, he would always know beforehand by reading her thoughts, it sucked.)

He pushed her towards their parents in order to make her act faster. She gave him her best puppy dog eyes, but he just turned her towards their parents again.

Decisively defeated, she reluctantly touched Esme's hand and ordered, "Stop." Then she did the same to her father.

Maddie looked back up at Edward. "There, they stopped," she said nonchalantly and made to walk past him and out of her room, but he held her back.

"They. are. not. MOVING!"

"Oh. What do you want them to do?" She smirked slightly and just prayed he would be on her side, but it did not look good for little Maddie today.

"Give them their memories back! Take back what you said to them!" he demanded angrily.

"Edward, please! They will kill me if they find out!" And by that she did not mean her damaged books, heck, that seemed trivial now, she meant selfishly using her gift on her parents of all people.

All of a sudden Rose appeared in the doorway, clueless about what was happening in this room but determined to defend her younger sister. "Why are you yelling at her, Edward? If you are frustrated, don't -"

"Look," he just said and Rose went further into the room.

Her parents were kneeling on the floor, unmoving - now that took her off-guard. She looked back at Edward, who had his arms crossed over his chest and was glaring at Maddie, who stood by the side and was currently busy chewing on her lip.

"If you run, I will catch you and make you pay," Edward threatened, obviously answering Maddie's thoughts, who then looked pleadingly up at Rose.

"Did you do that, Madeline?" Rosalie inquired while giving her a scrutinising look.

"Uhm ...," Maddie muttered. Why was Rose angry with her? She was supposed to always be on her side!

"Not this time, Madeline. Now make it right," Edward ordered.

"Do it yourself, you fucking ...," Maddie started to say, but suddenly Rosalie slapped her across the face before she could finish the sentence.

_That _had never happened before. The fact that her favourite sister ever just hit her shocked Maddie beyond belief. How _dare_ she?

"Ow! Rose, what -" "Do as Edward told you or I'll give you some more!"

Maddie, who was nursing her cheek with her left hand, took a step backwards. Rose and Edward were on the same side? Then hell must have frozen over.

Withdrawing her hand from her cheeck, she exclaimed, "Fine, but I don't know how!"

Rose was dumbfounded. "I beg your pardon?" she asked and blinked her owlishly.

"You guys never let me try it out, so I don't know how! I have never taken it back before!" It was the truth, Maddie did not have much experience when it came to her ability.

"This will be the first time then, get on with it," Rose told her sister sternly.

"I can't!" The little girl whined.

"So you suggest we leave them like that for all eternity, yes? !" Rose was even angrier than Edward was.

"No ... but, you know, I did a sloppy job. It'll wear off in a couple of days and everything will be back to normal," Maddie casually informed her siblings with a wave of her hand, trying to hide her nervousness that way.

"_Are you mocking us?_" Her brother took a threatening step towards her, but Rose held him back.

She turned to Maddie and ordered in her strictest voice, "You will make _every_ effort now to get them back to normal. Do _not_ make me tell you again."

Now she was defeated. And scared. Either her siblings kill her or her parents will, what a fun day.

She thought for a moment what she could do and say, all the while shooting nervous glances at Rose and Edward.

Eventually she kneeled down in front of Esme, took her hand and looked her straight in the eye.

"Mom, you never came to clean this up. You just spotted it when you walked into this room. Then you called for me, and Dad and I walked in here. Just remember."

Esme blinked. Then she blinked again ... and again. So she came around.

Maddie let go of her hand, and Esme immediately stood up.

She was shocked when she saw her husband being immobile and when she opened her mouth to say something, Maddie remarked with confidence, "No worries Mom, I'll fix that."

Then she knelt in front of her father. If it worked once, it'll work again ... well, theoretically.

Esme stood next to Rose, who put an arm around her and watched. That is why Maddie chose to help her mother first: Esme stood there and waited. Carlisle on the other hand would have flipped at the sight of his petrified mate. He was controlled almost all the time, but that would have been a real furnace.

Grabbing her father's hand and looking him straight in the eye, she said, "Dad, you never came to clean this up. Mom called and you walked upstairs with me to see what was going on. Remember."

The moment Carlisle 'woke up', Maddie stood up and took a step back. She was relieved it turned out so well, otherwise Rose would have eaten her alive.

Carlisle stood and looked at his wife, then at his hand which still held some of the pieces of teared paper, then at the floor, then at Edward.

His eyes narrowed. "Edward, why would you destroy your sister's books? I want an explanation, young man, and I'd better be good."

"No, I -" Edward said looking positively puzzled, then immediately stopped when he heard his little sister snicker.

Oops, did she forget to mention something? Haha.

Carlisle, feeling more than just a little confused, turned around to look at Maddie.

"He did not do it, Carlisle. Maddie convinced you and Esme into thinking so and even made you clean up this mess," Rosalie explained.

Maddie abruptly stopped laughing and looked at her sister thunderstruck. Why would she rat her out like that?

Esme and Carlisle fixed their youngest with a stern look in their eyes.

Uh-oh ...

"Rosalie hit me!" _Ha, in your face._

Now the two gasped and turned to face Rosalie, who seemed to be nervous all of a sudden.

"Only because Maddie refused to take back what she did to you!" Edward came to Rosalie's rescue.

"Hey! You told me to make them stop, and so I did!" Maddie retorted.

"Yes, and they nearly stopped _existing_! Even a brick moves more than they did!" _Whoa, what's wrong with Eddie?_ He'ss still angry, even though Esme and Carlisle were fine now!

"Enough!" It was Carlisle's turn to talk, and he was fed up. "Your bickering will get us nowhere! I want each one of you in your separate rooms. Now."

With that said, Rosalie and Edward marched out of Maddie's room. Maddie stayed, obviously. And so did Carlisle and Esme. _Great ..._

Plus, Edward even closed the door on his way out, how _thoughtful_ of him.

"Esme, are you all right, my love? No side-effects?" Carlisle asked his wife and looked her over. But she just said, "I am fine, no need to worry."

Now it was time to focus on Maddie.

"Tell us what happened," Carlisle ordered, then crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uhm ... where shall I start?" Madeline was nervous, and scared.

"You and I were in my office, talking about the arrangements of the upcoming week. And, correct me if I'm wrong, I disciplined you for your repeated abysmal choice of words, am I right?"

"... yes." Thanks for reminding.

"What happened next?" he asked.

"Mom called and asked me what happened, so we went upstairs." Maddie did so not want to explain any more than that.

Her parents nodded their heads - so they shared the same memories.

"Go on," Carlisle prompted.

Now came the tough part.

"Uhm ... you two looked at the paper on the floor," Maddie said.

Silence.

"I cannot imagine it ended there. Go. on," Carlisle pressed.

"Well, you wanted to know how it happened, so I gave you an explanation and you went to pick it up," Maddie rushed through the last part of the sentence.

Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose. He could not believe his daughter would still try to lie her way out of this!

"You left something out, something vital," he ground out.

"Sorry. I ... I touched you two, told you Edward ripped my books apart and that you came to clean it up."

There.

"Am I right to presume that you yourself destroyed them and then tried to pin the blame on your brother?"

"Uh-huh." was all Maddie got out.

"Words, please," her father prompted.

"Yes, sir." She looked down at her hands. There was nothing that could save her ass now, she realised.

But Carlisle had yet another question for his daughter. "What books are these?"

_Oh no_, it was getting worse and worse ...

"Uhm ..." Bright answer, Maddie!

"School books," Esme said and pointed at somethin, that looked like a piece of a book cover. It read 'Algeb ...'.

Carlisle head shot up again, and he narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

"You destroyed your _school books_?"

Don't look up, just don't look up, maybe he'll go away ...

"I don't believe this .. and to evade punishment you manipulate us, your parents, blame it on your brother and now you even have the cheek to not look at me when I am speaking to you!" he was very close to yelling, which did not happen often.

She looked up at him, mumbled an "I'm sorry" and would have cried if she could. Esme would have, too. She was appalled by her daughter's behavior and shocked that Carlisle let his anger show like this. She could not blame him for this reaction though; what Maddie had done was a lot to take in. As long as he did not lose control however, Esme would not interfere.

Carlisle realised that he had just scared his daughter with his outburst, so he said in a calm tone, "I apologise for yelling, that was not my intention. I need some time to calm down and you", grabbing Maddie by her upper arm and walking her to a corner, "will stay right here until I come back. Don't you dare think about running, or even moving an inch."

The moment he let go of her arm, she turned around and started to say "But ...," but was interrupted by her father who let out a low growl, turned her back towards the corner and gave her a mighty smack to her behind.

"I said: Stay here and do. not. move. Do you understand?"

No answer.

This angered Carlisle anew, and he gave her another smack, right where the last one landed, to prompt an answer.

"OW! Yes, I understand!" she whined while trying to rub the sting away.

"Esme, let us walk downstairs and talk it over," he said and left the room together with his wife.

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><p><strong>Do you notice how everything is Edward's fault? Hahaha, just joking ;-)<strong>

**Please let me know what you think, I even made the chapter longer for you! REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Finally my exams are over and I don't have to think about my ex anymore!**

**I'm posting this chapter today, because otherwise you would have to wait even longer! I'm not really happy about how it turned out to be, I changed a lot and added some parts ... but you'll find out for yourself!**

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><p>He put her in a corner. He put her in a freakin' corner. Like a five-year-old. And she was still standing there after 23 minutes and 48 seconds. So she was in deep shit.<p>

Maddie was sorry for doing this to her parents, she really was, she _probably_ wouldn't like it if anyone did that to her. But standing in a corner? Seriously?

And her parents were probably talking to Edward right now, who more or less witnessed _everything_.

Bad news.

Carlisle had been really really mad, so what would he do now?

The door to Maddie's room opened and in walked Carlisle.

Oh no...

"Madeline," he said, "come." She slowly turned around and looked very unsure of what to do. But she wouldn't be safer in that corner, now would she?

"Come sit with me." He sat down on the bed and waited for his daughter to join him. She took her time but eventually sat down next to her father, who looked calm and controlled again.

"Your mother and I talked to Rosalie and Edward," he informed her.

Maddie looked up at him for a short moment, then down at her hands.

"Rosalie is sorry for striking you."

The girl nodded her head.

"She really hopes you can forgive her."

She nodded again.

He sighed. "Madeline, this is not the end of the world."

"But you hate me now," she whispered.

"No, nobody hates you and no amount of mischief would ever make us hate you."

"Do you kick me out?" she asked.

"_Where do you get these ideas from?_ No! We are not sending you away. Why would we do something horrible like that? You are our daughter."

She looked not convinced.

Then it dawned on him. She got sent away when she was still human. Her mother and her new husband practically shooed her out of the house. If they wouldn't have died in the fire, he really would have been tempted to kill them himself.

"Madeline, please banish these thoughts from your head forever." Carlisle did not want for his daughter to ever think about them like that. She still did not fully trust them, he figured, and it hurt him to know.

"But you were so mad," she said and stared at the ground, unblinking, as if replaying in her head what had happened in this room half an hour ago.

"I was angered by what you did, yes. And I apologise for scaring you, I should not have yelled. It was wrong of me," Carlisle apologised to her, but she did not say anything in return.

Carlisle sighed, maybe a new habit of his. "Sweetheart, you are still very young and therefore make mistakes. That is to be expected. And you should keep in mind that everybody makes mistakes. Your siblings had difficulties as well after they were changed."

"They did?" That was news to Maddie.

"Did you really think anyone passed the first years without raising trouble?"

She smirked and shook her head, then said, "But it's been almost three years."

"So? It takes time to adapt. And in addition you have a very special gift. I can understand that it might be very tempting for you to use it in order to get your will or to get out of trouble."

"I didn't ask for it." She really didn't, she didn't even ask to be changed!

Maddie liked her gift though ... she honestly _enjoyed_ using it. It was great playing others like puppets, making them do whatever she wanted, erasing their memories about things that happened. The feeling of power that flowed through her while she planted thoughts and ideas in people's heads was amazing. But most of the time it brought trouble. Having a family with as much life experience and additionally gifted siblings made it next to impossible to do anything without them noticing.

"I know, but you have it and it is a part of you," her father stated.

"Then why is it wrong of me to use it if it's a part of me?" Honestly, why do you even have a gift if you cannot use it to your advantage?

"It depends on _how_ you use it, you know that."

"Edward and Alice use their abilities all the time, and they are never in trouble because of it." Maddie sulked.

"They are not able to control others and you can actively choose to use your gift. Alice can't help having visions, and Edward does try not to listen in on people's thoughts. And the fact that you are in trouble today is not just because of using your ability. It is primarily because you destroyed your books. If you hadn't done it in the first place, you wouldn't have felt the need to manipulate your mother and me."

"No, primarily it is because you send me to a stupid school with stupid teachers."

"Please Madeline, you are about to make this whole ordeal much worse, for you and for me. Education is necessary, and I will not remove you from this school."

"But -" "No!" he interrupted.

"Fine ..."

"Now, I think it is time to talk about your punishments."

"Punishment**s**?" Maddie asked, laying emphasis on the 's'.

"Indeed. I have chastised you before for misusing your gift and now I see that I have to do it again."

"It was an accident!" she tried to argue her way out of it.

"Was it?" he asked, 'sceptical' written all over his face.

"I ... well, it just happened!"

"Madeline, you decided to use it on your mother and I in order to get out of trouble, did you not?"

"You make it sound like I planned it ...," Maddie accused.

"I want to find out the truth. Tell me how it happened," her father replied.

"I just panicked." Brilliant explanation.

"And the only thing that came to your mind was to blame Edward and make us clean up?"

She just shrugged her shoulders.

"That is not a proper answer. And to me it sounds like you gave it a thought and then decided that this was the best way to evade trouble ... and cleaning up as well." Carlisle did not sound as calm as before anymore.

_Shit._

He then added, "You made the decision to plant these thoughts into our heads, and that is exactly what I am going to punish you for."

"I'm sorry," Maddie mumbled. Well, what else could she say now?

"For using your ability on your mother and I you will receive a spanking, Madeline."

Oh, biiig surprise.

"Tomorrow you will receive another one for destroying the books that you desperately need for studying." _Desperately, are you sure about that?_

"No, please! Two is a bit much, don't you think?" Maddie tried.

"Madeline. You have shown me repeatedly that maybe we are not strict enough with you. And two separate corrections are definitely deserved after today's events, especially since I have to punish you _again_ for misusing your gift."

"Not strict enough? I'm not allowed to do _anything_ already! What's next? You gonna put a freakin' leash on me?"

"Watch your mouth, young lady. I do not wish to add any more chastisements, but I will if you keep up this attitude."

"Sorry," she murmured. In reality, she wasn't sorry. It WAS unfair, after all.

"I accept your apology. Now let us proceed. Stand up and unfasten your trousers."

Oh, hell.

"N-Now?" she asked hesitantly.

Carlisle raised one eyebrow while looking at her, but did not answer.

"Okay ..." She slowly stood up, sad that she could not sit anymore (and wouldn't for a while) and stall. She unzipped her jeans and reluctantly pushed them down to the undercurve of her behind.

Carlisle sighed. She _always_ did that. So he pulled them down to her knees, and guided her over his lap. "Anything you would like to say before we begin?" he asked.

"... I'm sorry?" Maddie tried.

"Very well." Then he did something he had just once done before. He pulled down her panties to meet her jeans, and before she could protest, the smacking started.

Bare! Madeline could not believe he would do that to her! It was hurting so much more already, and it was humiliating!

"No, no, no, no, no! Daddy please, not bare! I'll be good!" she whined while Carlisle spanked her without missing a beat.

"I know," he answered and kept on peppering up her little bottom.

This was much, much worse. And it was longer, too. After two dozen smacks, he raised his knee to gain better access to Maddie's sit spots.

Worst part.

She screamed, she begged, she sobbed. All to no avail.

After the last six smacks to her sit spots, he stopped. Maddie did not realise that it was over - she was too busy crying her eyes out.

"Shh sweetheart, it is all over. You're forgiven. Calm down, shhh," Carlisle told his daughter lovingly and then tried to, carefully, pull her panties back over her rosy behind. Yes, she had been hunting this morning.

She hissed and growled, but calmed when they were set in place. It burned like hell, but she could not walk around naked, now could she?

When she made to stand up, her father asked "Wait, what about your jeans?" But she just kicked them off. "I-I don't w-wanna wear them any-anymore," was her reply and it sounded like she had hiccups.

"You don't have to, I understand," Carlisle told her and helped her stand up. Then he hugged her close, with one hand on the back of her head, pressing her to himself. He obviously needed the comfort, maybe even more than she did.

"Th-that was ho-horrible!" she wailed.

"It was for both of us. So please, please do not make me do that again. My old heart cannot take much more," he said and she looked up at him with a little smile on her lips.

"Daddy, your heart's not even beating."

Carlisle chuckled. It was remarkable how fast his daughter could 'forget' about her punishment. But it was remarkable, too, how fast she could earn herself one.

"Hey Dad ... don't you think this was enough? I can't even move without hurting." She looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I will not lessen your punishment. You need to learn."

"I know that what I did was wrong ..."

"Then why did you do it in the first place? No, you will receive another spanking tomorrow and then we can leave it all behind. Chin up princess, it'll be over fast," he said while cupping her cheek in his hand.

"Can I lie down?" she sounded tired, even though it wasn't possible for a vampire to ever tire.

"Sure sweetie, let me help you," he said and guided her over to the big bed. She lay down - on her stomach, of course - and he gave her a pillow for her to rest her head on. Carlisle softly stroked his daughter's hair and asked, "Do you want Mom to come upstairs? Or I'll stay with you, maybe Rose -"

"No, I'm fine. I just need some time alone right now, ok Daddy?"

"Of course. Tell me if you need anything," he said and she nodded her head in response. Carlisle gave her a kiss on the head, then walked over to the door and left the room.

TBC...

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><p><strong>There you go! I don't feel good about posting this but ... I try to do better with the next chapter!<strong>

**Review and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oops - haven't updated in a while! But here's the next chapter, and I even added a part with Esme :-) Hope you like it!**

** (Elenielrain: Rose and Edward won't dole out punishments in this story, they only act as Maddie's siblings here. I just can't see them smacking her ... but maybe I'll do another story where that might happen ;-) Just need some ideas!)**

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><p><em>Finally!<em> Maddie felt - even though she was a vampire - exhausted and she really needed some peace and quiet. No stupid questions, no explaining, just silence.

And her butt was throbbing! She would try not moving for the rest of the day.

But the quiet did not last long when a knock on the door could be heard.

"Leave me alone," Maddie moaned.

But it knocked again.

She pulled the pillow over her head and shouted, "Go away!", which came out muffled.

The door opened and closed again. Maddie opened one eye to find out who intruded her privacy.

Rose stood there with ice packs in her hand. When she came closer and looked her younger sister over, she drew in a sharp breath.

"What?" Maddie demanded.

"Oh my, doesn't it hurt? ! It looks painful," Rosalie said when she saw the pink skin of the undercurve of Maddie's butt. She wasn't wearing her jeans anymore, and her panties weren't covering all of her behind.

"No, of course it doesn't hurt, that's why I'm lying on my freakin' STOMACH!"

"Shush, don't be aggressive. I came to bring these." Rosalie held up the ice packs. "Alice called and told me to. And now I understand why."

She was thinking about how to remove Maddie's panties without causing her any more pain.

"This will hurt only for a second," she then said, and slowly eased the underwear over Maddie's behind.

It looked even worse now. The whole area was a light pink, which meant Carlisle had really laid into her. She then put the ice packs on her sister's buttocks ("Ouch!") and waited if they were helping or if she should remove them again. But then Maddie said, "Aaah, that is actually helping a bit."

Rose got a towel from Maddie's desk chair and covered her sister's behind with it - just in case somebody might barge in without knocking (Alice? Emmett? Never!).

It wouldn't help to humiliate Maddie after what she had been going through.

Then Rose walked around the bed, sat down next to her little sister and started stroking her hair.

"Maddie? I would like to make an apology. I shouldn't have slapped you, it was wrong of me to react that way. I hope you are not mad at me now and that you can forgive me. I sincerely promise it will never happen again."

"Geez, Rose! It wasn't that bad. Get over it," Maddie looked at her, obviously not angry or frightened.

"But I hit you and that should not have happened." Rose said, obviously regretting her action.

"Yeah, and stupid Edward caught me and that should not have happened. Whatever. It's done. Well, at least nearly."

"I'm not following."

"Carlisle decided to do that -", Maddie pointed over her shoulder at her butt, "-again tomorrow."

That made Rosalie frown. Two spankings seemed harsh. "Are you sure?"

Maddie looked at Rose as if she was the dumbest thing ever. "He said so_ maybe?_"

"Oh." Then Rosalie thought it over for a moment. "That can't be, I have to talk to him. What you did was really bad, but getting spanked twice, and probably even bare? I find that a bit extreme."

"Thank you. But he won't change his mind. He said I need to _learn_."

"Well, if it makes you feel better: Esme took my car keys away for a week."

"What? Why?" Esme confiscated Rosalie's car keys? What did she do to deserve that?

"I slapped you, remember?"

"Woah, now let's talk about extreme."

After a short silence, Rosalie asked her sister, "Why didn't Alice warn you?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, when you destroyed your books, she must have seen what was going to happen after that," Rose explained her question.

"Oh ... I think I know why. I 'might' have yelled at her about keeping her nose out of my business and stuff...," Maddie mumbled.

"She only wants to keep you safe!"

"I know, but I was really sick of her telling me, like, every day to not even think about doing this and not going there and so on."

"And how do you feel about that now?" the blond girl questioned Maddie.

"Maybe I should give her a second chance ..."

"You should give _her _a second chance? ! Maddie, it is just the other way round! You can consider yourself lucky if she decides to help you again after what you said to her!"

"Don't yell at me, I'm in pain, remember?" Madeline sulked playfully.

"Still, you better apologise to Alice as soon as she comes home. Without her help, you will probably never sit comfortably again."

Maddie made a face at her sister. "I'm not that bad! Come on!"

"Will you make an apology to Alice?" She _better _say yes.

"Yes, I will."

It was then that the door to Maddie's room swung open and a cheerful Alice danced in.

"Apology accepted!" she squealed and knelt down on the ground to give her little sister a hug and a kiss.

"Alice, she hasn't apologised yet!" Rose exclaimed.

"Yes, but she was going to, and it was beautiful. You should have been there, Rose," Alice said dreamily.

Okay ... weird.

"Of course I'll help you again, Maddie! I'll keep an eye on you and warn you before anything like that might happen again," she said while lifting the towel off of Maddie's bum. "Uuh, doesn't it hurt?"

Well, duh. "No, it's quite pleasant actually." Sarcasm dripping from every word. "Alice, um, what happens tomorrow?"

"Oh, Carlisle will give you another smacking. But it won't be as long, so you should be fine."

"Bare?" Maddie asked, hoping it wouldn't be _bare._

"Bare." Thanks, Alice.

ARGH.

"You have a really cute butt, you know that?" the pixie said.

"Hey! Stop looking at my butt in your visions!" Maddie did not like the fact that her sister knew so much about her; and she definitely did not want to talk about her body!

"Sure," Alice said and patted Maddie on the head.

The three girls stayed like that for a while, chatting away until Maddie said, "Hey can one of you call Mom for me? I think I need to talk to her, too."

"Sure," Alice answered and went to open the door.

"Wait! I better take the ice packs off first, we don't want to give her a scare," Rosalie said and took the towel and the ice packs off her sister's butt. It just wouldn't go over too well with Esme if she saw what exactly her husband had done to their youngest. Of course she knew how he punished the children, but she had never actually seen that particular part of the anatomy after Carlisle had corrected someone.

Rose pulled Maddie's underwear back up, and then asked "Trousers or a skirt?", while walking over to the closet.

"Skirt. A summer skirt, nice and light, please," the girl answered while getting up from the bed.

Rosalie picked a green skirt and turned around, but just got a "No! Not that one, Rose, the red one!" from Alice, who was still positioned at the door. Rose made a face at Alice and grabbed a different skirt.

"No, the other one! ... oh, just let me do it!" Alice called and bounced into the closet full of clothes - picked out by her, of course.

When Maddie was dressed and looked more or less normal again, Alice called for Esme.

"You know what? I'll meet her downstairs!" Maddie quickly said and made her way out of the room.

The floor was still littered with shreds of paper ... wouldn't do any good to remind her mother of that.

Plus Maddie just argued with her family in this room, had to stand in a corner and to top it all off, got one of the worst spankings ever. No, she wanted to lie down in the living room where her mother could console her.

"Mommy?" Maddie called when she entered the living room. Esme was watching some show about gardens .. something less than interesting.

She was sitting on the big, cream-colored couch and turned around with a smile on her face when she heard her daughter's voice. "Come here, sweetie," she said and switched the TV off.

So Maddie walked stiffly over to the couch; yes, she was still feeling the after-effects of Carlisle's hand.

The way her daughter moved did not go unnoticed by Esme. She felt a pang of guilt that she let her husband punish their children that way, but what could she do? She understood why he saw this as a fitting correction for their daughter's actions. Grounding Maddie for a longer amount of time usually worsened her behaviour. That would definitely be counterproductive, especially since she wasn't allowed to leave the house much for the last years right after her change - it just drove her daughter insane.

The girl lay down on her side in the middle of the big couch, head resting on her mother's knee and sighed. "Mom, I'm really sorry. Are you mad?"

"Oh no, honey, it is all forgiven," her mother said lovingly and let her fingers run through Maddie's hair. "Maddie?"

"Hm?"

"Your father told me about your fear of getting sent away." T

Maddie stiffened under her mothers touch now.

"I just want you to know that this would never happen. You belong with us and that won't ever change. We are a family. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yes." Maddie nodded.

"And do you believe it?" That question was way more important to Esme.

_Nothing._

Maddie's hesitation broke Esme's heart - Esme looked like she was about to cry.

"No! Mom, stop!" Maddie quickly said while propping herself up on her elbow. "Look, I'm so sorry, I believe you!" she added with wide eyes, panic clearly showing.

Esme put her hands on both sides of her daughter's face and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Sweetie, don't be sorry. I apologise for pushing you. I just want you to know that we are here for you. Trust takes time, baby. Take your time."

That calmed Maddie enough to say, "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. I do trust you, there is just something ... holding me back, I guess." That wasn't entirely true. The worst memories of her human life were still present in her mind; they had faded some, but not completely. She did vaguely remember what happened years ago and sometimes that made it so hard for her to trust the people who called themselves her parents. She never had trouble confiding in Rose, though. Or Emmett .. but she wouldn't actually have serious conversations with that one. The mere thought of that was ridiculous.

"It's all right, don't rush. Just follow your heart." Esme knew of course that Maddie did remember something, but the girl obviously did not want to talk about it.

"Mom, do you still trust me after ... what happened earlier?" her daughter asked hesitantly.

"Let me be honest with you, Madeline: I know it is not malignity that drives you to use your gift on us, it is more or less inexperience. That'll change."

"Huh?" _What kind of an answer was that?_

"What I mean to tell you is that I do trust you as a _person. _You are my daughter."

"...but ?" There had to be a 'but', there is always a 'but'! It just wouldn't make sense otherwise!

"But you struggle with making the right decisions."

Maddie pondered that over in her head. "So ... you trust me because you think I will learn to make the right decisions?"

"That is how I meant it," Esme confirmed.

"Mommy, I don't want to burst your bubble, but that is belief, not trust."

"If you say so, dear." Esme chuckled and patted Maddie on the head. "You look tired, angel, would you like to watch a movie?"

With her eyes closed the girl murmured, "The beauty and the beast."

"All right. It'll just take a moment." Her mother made to stand up, but stopped when Maddie hastily said, "Mom! ... don't leave." It wasn't often that the girl felt this certain connection with Esme, and she did not want for it to end just now.

"I'll watch it with you! I'm not leaving you, I won't," Esme promised.

Funny enough, Disney movies were something that calmed Maddie. She often turned into a tired five-year-old that would fall asleep during her favourite movie. Vampires did not sleep, of course, but they could reach a state of complete relaxation - a dreamlike state of mind.

She was like a sleeping child just then - but with unblinking eyes and no movement whatsoever, actually.

And - just like Esme hoped after a rough day like that - her daughter 'fell asleep' during the movie.

TBC...

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><p><strong>Phew, there you go! Please let me know what you think!<strong>

** Would you like to see more Esme in this story? Or Emmett? Jasper? Anyone? Tell me! And review, of course!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Next chapter! There is more Esme in it, hope you like it!**

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><p>When Carlisle came back from his hunt, he found his beautiful wife and his youngest daughter in the living room.<p>

"Hello, my love," he said while walking towards the couch she was sitting on.

"Sshh!" Esme answered and gave her husband, who leaned down over the backrest of the couch, a kiss on the lips. "We have to be quiet, she just fell asleep," she added quietly.

"Oh." Carlisle smiled. "It's good to see her like that."

"It is. But you and I are going to have a long talk when this movie is over." The change in Esme's voice confused Carlisle. "What is bothering you, darling?"

"Not now!" she hissed and pointed at the sleeping girl, who still had her head resting on Esme's lap.

"I'll be in my office, then. Join me whenever you are ready." Well, he loved his wife with all his heart, but she was still a woman and therefore - confusing.

Esme wasn't exactly infuriated, but she definitely wanted to talk to Carlisle about what had happened a couple of hours ago. Her baby couldn't even walk without hurting, is that what he considered a fitting punishment?

They had discussed Maddie's actions of today and agreed that two separate punishments were in order, but if the second one would be like this, Esme was against it.

Just then Alice skipped into the room and came to a halt in front of Esme.

"Go talk to him," she whispered. "I'll watch her until you come back."

"Are you sure?" After all, she had told her youngest that she would not leave her, but she needed to find out what Carlisle had planned to do on the next day.

"Yes, we'll be fine. Off you go!" Alice chirped and took Esme seat, carefully placing her sisters head in her lap, so she wouldn't wake her up.

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><p>"You are upset, my love, talk to me." Carlisle sat behind his desk in his office and looked up from his book when his wife entered the room.<p>

"What did you do to her?" she demanded and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Esme, we talked about it and decided to correct her behaviour with a spanking," he answered and put the book away.

"You have been too harsh, Carlisle, she couldn't even walk without hurting. This will not happen again tomorrow, let me tell you that." Judging by the tone Esme used with her husband right now, Momma Bear just made an appearance.

"Her actions today demanded for a stricter approach. She _manipulated _us, knowing full well that it is disrespectful and dishonest and there would be consequences for it. What's even worse, she had been punished for misusing her gift several times already, and still did not learn from her previous mistakes."

"Madeline is a _child_! What do you expect?" Esme queried.

Carlisle stood up from his chair and closed the distance between himself and his wife by walking around the big desk and leaning against it. Then he answered in a calm tone of voice, "I expect her to learn to think before she acts. It doesn't help to tell her with a wagging finger that she's been naughty. It is our responsibility as her parents to guide her and to keep her in line. And that is exactly what I have been doing."

"And what will you be _doing_ tomorrow?"

"I'll discipline her again, of course. Esme, we were in agreement on this."

"Yes we were ... before I saw her like this."

"I did not abuse her, Esme, I would never do that. And I do not plan on using the same severity as of today. I am not cruel to our children," Carlisle told his wife, while driving his hands up and down her upper arms.

"... I know that," Esme said and looked Carlisle deep in the eyes. "I just don't want it to trigger bad memories from her past."

"That's what this is all about, isn't it? Did you talk to her about your concerns?"

"I did talk to her about her trust issues. And I know she remembers something bad, but she won't open up about it."

"And I doubt that she will, Esme, we have to accept that. Not even Tanya or Rose know much about her past. She just doesn't want to talk about it. Still, it is quite obvious that her human life was lacking structure and love."

"I just don't know how to help her," whispered Esme while looking down.

"You helped her a lot today by just being there for her. Only you as her mother can console her the way you did. She fell asleep on you, didn't she?"

"She did, and she is still sleeping so I better go downstairs again. I told her I wouldn't leave. And you," Esme said and kissed Carlisle on the lips, "better not be too severe with the little one tomorrow." She hugged him for a moment, then turned around and left his office. She did not need to make threats - he knew from experience what could happen if you displeased this dear mother.

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><p>Alice was humming along to the music of the movie, all the while braiding strands of Maddie's hair and flattening it out again.<p>

"He changed his mind," she remarked when her mother stepped into the living room.

"What do you mean?"

"You made him change his mind. He'll be going very easy on Maddie tomorrow."

"Thank God, I was still a bit scared for her. Ooh, just look, she is still sleeping so peacefully."

"Yes, but she'll wake up soon ... in about half an hour. Maybe you shouldn't tell her that you left to talk to Carlisle," Alice suggested.

"I won't tell her, even though I feel bad for doing it." Esme felt like she betrayed Maddie's trust, but talking to Carlisle had been necessary.

"Don't. She is fine, see? No harm done." Alice smiled up at Esme while lightly stroking her sister's cheek. "Would you like to take your seat again?"

"I'd like that very much. Thank you for your help, Alice."

"You're welcome. Oh, and don't worry too much, Esme, everything will turn out fine," she said, gave Esme a kiss on the cheek and walked upstairs to spend some time with Jasper.

When Maddie woke, she felt rested and content. The honey-colored eyes of her mother looked down on her when she stirred and Esme promptly asked, "How are you, sweetheart?"

"I was out, wasn't I?" Maddie said while sitting up and running her fingers through her hair.

"It was a long day, honey, you needed to rest. Do you feel better now?"

"I do, thanks Mom." She nodded and leaned against her mother, who hugged her against herself with one arm around her shoulders.

"Would you like to go on a hunt?" Esme queried.

Maddie shrugged. "Not really, maybe in the morning."

They sat like this for a while until Esme asked, "Sweetheart, may I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Your father and I will go on a journey next week and I am quite a bit concerned about leaving you here with your siblings."

"Huh? Why?" Maddie asked, giving Esme a perplexed look.

"I just don't feel comfortable leaving you right now," Esme admitted.

"But why? I don't get it. It's not like I'm alone, there are still five people who will be watching me."

"And is that all right with you? We could postpone our trip to another time and -"

"No! Mom, what is this all about? You are looking forward to this trip, right? Why would you delay it?"

Esme sighed. "All right. I have the feeling that you have some unpleasant memories resurfacing and I want to be here for you in case you wish to speak about it."

"Seriously?" Maddie asked in a 'are-you-shitting-me'-voice.

"Yes Madeline, I am being serious."

"Go on your trip, Mom," Maddie said decisively, got up and made to walk out of the living room.

"Wait! Maddie, I did not mean to upset you, I -"

"I am not upset, _you_ are. Go hunting or something," Maddie retorted without turning around.

And there goes the bonding down the drain ...

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><p>Maddie couldn't help herself. She just hurried up the stairs and headed for her room.<p>

Awesome. Esme wanted to postpone the trip and then it would be her fault, naturally. She didn't even do anything, how is that fair?

But before Maddie reached her room, she was stopped by Edward, who was leaning against the door frame of his own room.

"You got that wrong, little one. This is not about fault," he said.

"Stay out of my head, would you?" Maddie snapped, anger clearly showing.

"Esme is just concerned -," Edward tried, but was interrupted by his sister. "She shouldn't be."

"Care to let me finish?" he asked with raised eyebrows and watched her quickly turning around to face him.

"I don't want to hear it, Edward!" she exclaimed exasperatedly. "If they would delay their trip now, then I would be the one to blame just because Mom thinks I couldn't behave for one lousy week!"

"Maddie, stop. I just told you that you got it all wrong."

"Whatever," Maddie ground out and wanted to slam her door, but Edward stopped that from happening.

"'Unpleasant memories' is not a metaphor for screwing up. She does not think you might be misbehaving next week."

"What?"

Edward rolled his eyes at her. "Oh come on, you know what I am talking about."

"No." Pout.

Madeline," Edward sighed, "she doesn't want you to feel alone."

"But I am not alone, and you'll be there." As if they would ever leave her home alone, phh.

"Exactly," Edward said and ran his finger's through his hair, then explained further. "She is simply being Mom, you know? She did not mean to accuse you, she is just being her overprotective, caring self."

"Oh," Maddie replied when realisation finally hit and she frowned.

"I know what you think. Before you joined us, I was her baby." Edward smirked at his little sister. "Thanks to you, she finally isn't concerned about me all the time anymore."

"Hey!" Maddie playfully smacked him on the shoulder. "Take her back!"

"No way, you are her baby now. Good luck with that." He laughed, ruffled her hair and went to his room.

_Great, she was the baby now_.

TBC...

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><p><strong>Sooo, what do you think? Review and let me know!<strong>

** Btw, next chapter will be the second punishment, poor Maddie :-(**


	6. Chapter 6

**Woohoo! It took me only two days to write this chapter, and the next one is nearly finished, too! **

**Have fun! :-)**

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><p>It was late afternoon when Maddie came back from a long hunt with Emmett and Rose. The day before had been hard for her, and therefore she had really needed to feed. Well, her eyes had not turned dark yet, but today would bring more ... unpleasantness and so Rose decided to get her sister fed. Maddie tended to develop quite a temper when hungry and that's why they tried to prevent that from happening so she wouldn't add to her impending punishment.<p>

Satisfied and with blood-stained clothes, she entered her room and went straight for the closet. She was a messy eater, so a shower and a change of clothes was next on her to-do-list. Not that she minded wearing dirty clothes, but neither Alice, Esme nor Rose would let her. The entire house was mostly white and cream-colored on the inside, and blood and dirt would probably leave stains.

Maddie enjoyed her shower, but realised all too soon that she wouldn't enjoy anything else much for the rest of the day. There was still the second smacking for ripping the stupid books. Luckily she had picked up all the shreds of paper last night out of sheer boredom, or otherwise she'd be in even bigger trouble now.

But why would it be bare again? That was so not fair! They were just books after all, she did not kill anyone.

Showered and dressed again, Maddie decided to spend some time in her room listening to music.

Wait a minute - why was her door ajar? She stopped in the hallway and peeked into her room.

_Seriously?_

There, in the middle of her desk, lay two brand-new school books with a red bow on top.

What kind of a sick joke was that? !

She huffed and stormed into her room to take a closer look.

"Do you like them?" came from someone standing by the door, startling her. She turned around and there he was - Carlisle. _Yaaaay_.

"They're ... great, Dad," she said through gritted teeth and then put on a fake smile.

"Tut-tut, do not be angered. You knew I would purchase new ones for you."

"I know, but honestly .. I didn't think it would be that soon," she said while eyeing them with distaste.

"I did not want to leave you without something to do. You can complete your homework today, sounds good?"

Okay, seriously, the way he was teasing her did nothing to lift her mood right now. So she just looked at him without saying a word. Talking during situations like these usually got her into more trouble, so she had learnt to remain silent. Yes, her parents weren't exactly fond of swearwords.

Carlisle closed the door behind himself, then approached his daughter.

"I am sorry to say this, but we cannot delay your punishment any longer. Let's get it over with."

Now, if you put it that way ... maybe talking about homework wasn't such a bad idea.

"Madeline, stop just standing there and come here," he ordered quietly while sitting down on her bed.

But she remained standing, with a protrudent bottom lip and big puppy-dog eyes.

"Honey, don't look at me like that. Do you remember what happened yesterday? I cannot let it slide."

"Well, you could try," she suggested with a little half-smile.

"No. Now tell me, why am I going to discipline you?"

But Maddie clearly did not want to answer, because she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hmm?" he prompted.

She couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at her father. "I destroyed my books which let to ... stuff that happened yesterday." As if he didn't know what happened. She hated these stupid questions.

"Stuff? Elaborate, Madeline. And let me advise you to stop this disrespectful behaviour. Preferably now," Carlisle said.

"Fine ... it let to me using my ability on you and Mom and Edward catching me in the process," Maddie answered while unfolding her arms.

"Precisely. Why was using your gift wrong?"

"Because it was disrespectful and selfish." She knew exactly what he wanted to hear.

"What did you learn from all of this?" Carlisle queried.

_That you are having my ass if I ever do it again? That I can indeed use my ability on two people at the same time? That you are a big, old meanie?_ "I should think before I act."

"Very good, Maddie. Try to keep that in mind, will you?"

"I'll try, Dad."

"Good sweetie, now come."

Maddie slowly stepped closer to her father, who grabbed her wrist when she was in arm's reach and guided her over his knees.

_Huh?_ Alice said it was going to be bare! Shouldn't she pull down her trousers or something?

In order to quicken things up, she tried to lift her hips for her dad to remove her jeans, but he just tightened his grip on her waist. "Lie still," he ordered and let his right hand crack down onto her jean-clad behind.

She yelped, because that smack had just caught her off-guard. And it stung.

What is going on here?

A dozen hard smacks later and Carlisle started rubbing his daughter's back in a comforting manner.

That was it? No ... that can't be.

But when Carlisle helped Maddie up and sat her on his lap, she realised that that was indeed all.

"You changed your mind," she whispered with a frown on her face. "Why did you change your mind?"

"I beg your pardon? What are you talking about, honey?" Carlisle replied and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She sniffed; even a short spanking hurt like hell. But thank God she decided to wear loose-fitting jeans today and not a stupid summerskirt; skirts did not offer much protection, she knew from experience. "You were so mad yesterday, and I asked Alice -"

"Oh Maddie." Carlisle chuckled. "The future constantly changes, you know that. And again, I am truly sorry for letting my anger show like that, it won't happen again in the future."

"It's all right. But what made you change your mind, Daddy?"

"Your Mom did," Carlisle answered and placed a kiss on the girl's forehead, making her smile.

Maybe it wasn't too bad to be her baby if it saved her ass...

"But Madeline, do not make us regret being lenient this time," Carlisle reminded her.

"I won't." She shook her head, then still and glanced at him, a flicker of fear in her eyes. "But you and Mom didn't argue, right, Dad?"

"No, we did not, no need to worry."

"Okay," she said and let her head rest in the crook of his neck, glad that it was over and she got off lightly for a change.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day went by quietly; Maddie indeed did her homework and finished it soon enough for her and Emmett to watch a new splatter movie. The two only had to endure Rosalie's constant huffing and eye-rolling until she finally left the room ... she and Alice were of the opinion that a girl night with chick flicks would be better suited for a fourteen-year-old girl, instead of watching blood and monsters with the boys. But Maddie liked these movies better - and spending time with Emmett was awesome, because he was funny as hell.<p>

"He had really put a bow on top? Like a birthday present?" Emmett was laughing so hard, he fell off the couch with a loud 'thud' and even snorted a couple of times.

"Yes! And he put it right in the middle of my fucking _desk_!" Maddie still couldn't believe it.

"Lucky for him that you found it there - be honest, have you ever used your desk?" Em poked her in the side while getting up from the white, fluffy rug.

"Phh, of course I have! Where else would I be putting my dirty laundry?" She shrugged her shoulders, then started cackling like a little witch. They had a blast, just like they always had.

"Is the old man done whoopin' you now or is more heading your way?"

"No, thank goodness it's over! Another one and my butt would fall off, for sure." She shuddered at the thought.

"We're vampires, he would just pick it up and stick it back on for the next round." Emmett grunted and made his sister laugh out loud.

After two more movies and a lot of laughing fits later, Esme came downstairs and told them to calm down a bit before school and to get changed. Well, that was mostly valid for Maddie, since she had to change into a school uniform.

* * *

><p>After Maddie had put on the dreadful clothing, she walked down the stairs and into the living room to watch the morning news with her family. Watching the news was like a collective morning ritual before they headed off to school or to work. Oh, and Maddie had to try keeping Alice from doing her hair - that was something that took place every morning as well. Sometimes she would give in and let Alice have her fun, but mostly she did not feel like being her sister's doll. Her hair looked fine the way it was, she did not need a fancy hairdo, thank you very much.<p>

"Alice, you can do her hair after school, we need to leave now," Carlisle said and grabbed his car keys from the counter in the kitchen.

"No, she can't!" Maddie angrily shouted from the top of the stairs, then shrieked and yelled, "Stay away from me!"

"Girls! It is late, get down here now!" Esme called in a voice that brooked no argument. Every morning the same with these two.

Another minute passed. Then, _finally_, Alice came down the stairs with a triumphant smile plastered on her face, followed by her little sister who now had her hair up in a high ponytail and a big scowl on her face. So they had at least come to a compromise.

"Ready?" Carlisle asked, when Maddie entered the kitchen with her backpack hanging over her left shoulder.

She nodded, got a hug and a "Be good!" from Esme and made her way over to the door that led to the garage. Carlisle kissed his wife goodbye, then put his hand on his daughter's back to guide her through the door and into the garage, where his black Mercedes was parked.

A typical Monday morning.

TBC...

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><p><strong>Like it? Review!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! Next update! Read!**

**patz13: Fight at school? It will happen, but not in this chapter, sorry! ****Maddie does not have a death wish (Carlisle would throttle her if she got in trouble _again_ after a weekend like that)!**

**:-D**

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><p>Maddie and Edward listened to some music while driving home, neither saying a word. What was there to talk about anyways? School? Ha.<p>

Carlisle was still at work, therefore Edward picked his sister up from school this afternoon. Before they reached Forks however, Edward turned the music down and said, "I don't think they will allow it."

"In case you didn't know: I don't like it when you read my thoughts," Maddie snapped at him and turned the music up again.

Edward turned the music down again. "I apologise, but your idea is still stupid."

She turned slightly to look at him, eyes wide. "What? Why? It's brilliant and perfect and the best idea I have ever had!"

"Sorry to deceive your hopes, but it is not. Just accept what Carlisle told you and -"

"Fuck no!" she stated petulantly.

"All right, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't work. And let me give you a word of advice: Try to keep the cussing to a minimum."

She glared at him.

He shrugged. "Well, it is your backside, not mine."

"None of your damn business," Maddie murmured and turned the music up again.

* * *

><p>Maddie waited more or less patiently until her father came home from the hospital. She had such a good idea in mind and she wanted to tell him so badly; there was no reason whatsoever for him to say 'No' to her after he heard what she had come up with. She hurried down the stairs just in time to see Carlisle enter his office. Before he could close the door behind himself, Maddie darted into the room and came to a halt right in front of him. No need to say he looked more than just a little surprised.<p>

"Maddie, dear, what -," he started to say.

"Uh, Daddy! I have an idea!" She was so bubbly when excited.

"Yes, sweetie?" Carlisle asked and put his briefcase on the desk.

"I promise I'll be good and I won't cause any trouble whatsoever."

"That sounds fantastic." He nodded approvingly.

"And Jasper and I won't argue at all," she added.

"It's getting better and better."

"And you don't have to worry about a single thing. Everything here will run smoothly," she told him with a big smile on her face.

"I'm curious, Madeline, now tell me," Carlisle said and leaned against his mahogany desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, how about I stay with Tanya and the others for the week?" she asked, giddy with excitement.

He immediately shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no. You have school to attend to."

"So? It is just one week. Please, Dad! That would be awesome, we could -"

In case she got carried away with her 'idea', Carlisle interrupted her immediately. "No I said. You will stay here like I told you."

"But that's not fair! You and Mom get to go away, why not me? I wanna go to Tanya's!" she whined.

"It is not possible, please accept that."

"No!" she yelled and stomped her foot like a five-year-old throwing a tantrum.

He watched that display, then pointed a warning finger at her. "Madeline, behave. You will stay here and that is final."

With clenched fists, Maddie shouted, "Like hell I will!"

Carlisle just looked at his daughter with raised eyebrows and said nothing - he waited for her to calm down.

Then she said - indeed calmer than before - but with narrowed eyes, "I'm gonna ask Mom."

Maddie wanted to stomp out of the room, but didn't even make it to the door when her Dad stopped her by saying, "Madeline, Esme and I agreed on this. You'll stay here in Forks. Now stop these antics, all right?" Carlisle hoped she would just accept what he just told her and not argue any further. Otherwise it was just a matter of time until she would cuss and break something, then Carlisle would have to step in and put Maddie in her place and the rest of the day would be ruined, for both of them.

"Every time I make a suggestion you don't even consider it and just say no! I never get to have a say in _anything_!" Maddie was fuming.

"That is not true," Carlisle replied calmly, hoping his calmness would defuse the situation. But - too bad! - it didn't work.

"For fuck's sake, it is more than true!" Oh dear, that outburst got her two well-aimed blows to her behind from her father; he was fed up.

Maddie scowled while rubbing at her smarting bum - maybe she should have stopped when he warned her, but she always struggled controlling her temper, especially when she was that angry.

"We are done discussing that matter," he said with finality.

"I wanna stay at Tanya's," Maddie retorted with finality.

"Madeline." Carlisle sighed. "As far as I know Tanya and the family are in Russia travelling around right now. They are not home. So one way or the other, you cannot visit."

Her jaw dropped. "That is not true! She would have told me! She would have taken me with her!" Madeline was angry all over again; either with her Dad in case he was lying, or with Tanya for not telling her about the trip.

"Hush, Madeline. That is why she did not tell you, you would have wanted to join them no matter your obligations. You can travel during your school breaks, Tanya is already planning something nice for you, I am sure."

"I don't wanna talk anymore." She felt betrayed. She had lived with Tanya and her family for nearly two years! How could they not tell her when they left the country? She had spent more time with them than with the Cullens, for heaven's sake!

"Don't be upset, Maddie. Everything is -," Carlisle tried.

"I don't wanna talk anymore! ... I want Rose," She added the last part in a small voice.

"Yes, of course, honey." Carlisle instantly knew that Maddie was deeply hurt. She was such a tough cookie and did not like to share her feelings with anyone. But when she asked for Rose, then she couldn't pretend to not mind anymore. Moments like these painfully reminded him that maybe she had been too young to be changed, especially with the human life she used to have.

Carlisle stood up and guided his daughter with his hand on her back out of his office and over to Rose and Emmett's room. He knocked, and a moment later the door opened. Rose looked at Carlisle first, then at Maddie and her eyes slightly widened. She put a hand on Maddie's shoulder and pulled the girl into the room - she already knew moments like this. Her sister's spirit could be up one minute - down the next. She nodded towards her father and closed the door. Then she led Maddie over to the king-sized bed, which was standing in the middle of the room, and together they sat down.

"What is it, Maddie? What happened?" she asked, her voice thick with concern.

Madeline just stared at the floor, then whispered, "No, it's all right, I just overreacted." She made to stand up, but Rose seized her by the forearm and held her in place.

"Is it because Carlisle disciplined you? I heard it happening."

Maddie shook her head no.

"Then what is upsetting you? And don't you tell me you'll be fine. I know this behaviour, you are going to bottle up what is bothering you right now along other things and then you get frustrated and someone gets hurt. Now tell me what is going on." Someone gets hurt, yes, that was usually Maddie herself.

"They left. They left and didn't even bother telling me," Maddie answered in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Who are you talking about?" Rose was obviously not following.

"Tanya and the others," Maddie said a bit louder.

"You have to give me a bit more than that." Rose was obviously still not following.

Maddie sighed. "Carlisle said they left for Russia, travelling around or something. They didn't tell me."

"But that is nothing to be upset about, Maddie! Carlisle and Esme are leaving next week, and they wouldn't necessarily inform them about it!"

"Still ... "

"Oh. You think they didn't tell you, because they did not want to take you with them?" Rose knew her so well.

Maddie just looked at her with sad eyes.

"Tut-tut, sweetie. You came back to us a couple of months ago! You have school to go to and tell me: Why did Tanya bring you back to us?"

Maddie rolled her eyes at Rosalie.

"I _said_: Tell me." Ugh, Rose could be _so_ bossy.

"She said, I should get to know everyone better since we are family."

"That's right. Did you know she actually wanted you to stay with them for good?"

Maddie shook her head no, confusion written all over her face. "No. She never said so."

"Of course she didn't! She knew we are your family, Carlisle and Esme your parents! It would have been selfish to make you stay!" Rose explained to her.

"Why? They are family, too! You said so yourself!"

"They are. I wouldn't have trusted anyone else to take care of you but them. We consider them extended family, of course."

"Like aunts and cousins, right?"

"Exactly." Rose nodded her head, then queried, "What else is bothering you, hm?"

"I don't want Jasper being in charge," Maddie murmured sulkily.

"Are you talking about when Esme and Carlisle are away on their vacation?"

"Yes. Carlisle left Jasper in charge and not you or Emmett, and I think it sucks."

Rosalie laughed heartily, it sounded light and cheerful.

"What?" Maddie asked loudly, but a small smile played on her lips; Rose's rare laughter was infectious.

"It doesn't matter who's in charge! We'll all be here," Rose told her sister, but without the 'Duh'.

Maddie made a face. "But he's mean."

"No, he is not mean. You just think he is," Rosalie corrected.

"No difference."

Maddie got patted on the head at that response.

"If you have the feeling that he is doing you injustice, come to me."

"Okay," Maddie said. Now, that will _definitely_ happen a lot during the next week.

A minute passed until Rosalie asked, sounding slightly confused, "I'm sorry for asking, but ... how are Tanya travelling and Jasper being in charge connected?"

"I wanted to stay at Tanya's while Esme and Carlisle are visiting Paris," Maddie explained and pouted.

"That is the reason you were arguing mere minutes ago?" Rosalie looked stunned.

"Uh-huh." It was a damn good reason!

"You have been disciplined twice during the last two days and still dare to be disrespectful? No sense of self-preservation _whatsoever_." Rosalie sighed and shook her head lightly.

"It was worth a shot." Maddie shrugged and leaned against Rose.

After a couple of minutes Rose loosened the embrace and asked, "All better now?"

Maddie nodded.

"Good. Then let's drive to the store, you silly girl, I'll get you something nice."

"Yaaay!" Maddie cheered, then stopped abruptly. "Esme has your car keys, _you silly girl,_" she mocked and giggled, which got her _the _look, so she stopped.

Rosalie thought for a moment. "Emmett _loves _to drive, come!"

So, the rest of the day was spent peacefully by the whole family. Emmett and the girls were at the store and bought games and make-up (Alice _insisted_ on joining them, after she saw the _horrible_ black eyeshadow Maddie would be choosing), Edward and Jasper went hunting and so Carlisle and Esme had the house to themselves for some alone time.

TBC...

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><p><strong>Ok, I just realized that by mentioning Tanya I might have confused you.<strong>

**I always forget that I know more about Maddie than you do, ha!**

**(Warning, very short summary): After her change, Maddie spent about two months with the Cullens, but it didn't work out. So she lived with the Denalis instead for the next two years until they decided to try again. :-) Hahaha, the summary sucks!**

**There are some chapters I've written a while ago about Maddie's past and how she became a vampire and stuff on my laptop. If you are interested, tell me, and I'll post them.**

**REVIEW and let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**My longest chapter yet! Phew!**

** I hope you enjoy reading it ... or do you like the chapters shorter? You can tell me in your review! Good idea? Yeah :-)**

** patz13: There were actually no spankings planned for the next few chapters while Esme and Carlisle aren't home. Sooo ... I just added a flashback. Like it?**

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><p>The next days went by in a blur. Maddie sulked another day or two, but eventually realised that it would get her nowhere.<p>

On Friday evening, Carlisle and Esme got ready to leave for the airport. Carlisle carried their two suitcases down the stairs, which Esme had packed while he was at work, and put them next to the door that led to the garage. Their children were standing at the counter, waiting.

Well, Maddie was more or less waiting, too ... she was watching the Disney Channel and couldn't care less what was happening around her.

Because she did not know at what time her parents would leave the house for their one week vacation, she got herself detention at school in hopes her parents were already gone when she would come home later. No such luck. They still hadn't left yet and she was grounded for the rest of the day.

Rose walked into the living room, her heels clicking on the expensive parquet floor. She took the remote from the armrest of the couch and switched the TV off.

Maddie gave her an annoyed-as-hell look.

"Come now, we'll see Esme and Carlisle off."

"But I was watching that!" she pointed at the TV and looked back at Rose.

"You are coming with me," Rosalie replied, grabbed Maddie by the arm and pulled her into the kitchen.

"Be nice," Rose whispered in her ear and gently pushed her in front of herself when Esme entered the kitchen.

"So," Esme sighed. "I think I packed everything."

"And we need to be leaving soon, otherwise we won't be able to catch our plane," Carlisle stated after taking a look at his watch.

"All right, darling."

She then retrieved a piece of paper from the drawer of the sideboard and handed it to Jasper. "Here is a list of all the important phone numbers, emergency -"

"Esme." Jasper smiled and tried not to chuckle. "you worry too much. We'll be fine."

"I know you will. I trust you," she said, then walked over to Maddie and patted her on the head. "And take good care of my little Maddie."

"Mom please, I can take care of myself," the girl whined.

"Yes I know, sweetie," Esme said and hugged her youngest close.

"You know you can call us anytime you wish." Ugh, parents, seriously.

"Yep, you told me, like, a million times already," Maddie replied, rolling her eyes.

Esme wasn't too impressed with that, so Maddie quickly added, "And I'll keep it in mind, of course." Just to make sure she wouldn't get into any more trouble during the last few minutes her parents were still home.

Standing around in the kitchen was starting to bore her, even though it hadn't been more than maybe a minute. "Oh Mom! You need to hurry, your plane!" she quickly exclaimed and hugged her Mom close, then went to give her Dad a kiss on the cheek and asked, "Can I go watch TV now?"

"Sure ... have fun, sweetie," Carlisle replied, watching her with a skeptical look in his eyes. He knew she was still upset about not being able to visit Tanya, but it was nothing he could change. "And remember what I told you."

Yes. What he told her ... last night, Carlisle called her to his office _again_ and let her know that he wanted her to be on her best behaviour for the week and if she got in any trouble while he and Esme were away, he would address it as soon as he came home.

Isn't that_ sweet_?

So Maddie planted her butt back on the couch in the living room while her siblings said their good-byes to Carlisle and Esme and wished them a safe and happy trip.

"All right, I'll just put your laundry in the dryer, then we can do something fun," Rose said while looking at Maddie, then stalked towards the laundry room.

Jasper was on his way to his and Alice's room but stopped right in the middle of the staircase, turned around and asked, "Wait a minute ... you are doing Madeline's laundry?"

"Sure." Rosalie shrugged her shoulders. "Esme usually takes care of it, but she didn't have enough time today."

Jasper turned to Maddie and questioned, "And why don't you do your laundry yourself now, Madeline?"

"She won't let me do it!" she called over her shoulder while zapping through the channels.

"And why is that?"

"Well, Rose thinks I can't be trusted to be alone in the laundry room."

"She broke the washing machine two months ago so we had to get a new one," Rose explained, because she remembered that Jasper and Alice were not home during that specific week and therefore did not know what had happened at home. Well Alice probably knew, but whatever.

"How did you do that?" he questioned.

She sat up on the couch and said with innocent eyes, "I wanted to clean my bowling ball."

"That was the lie you told Esme, and she did not believe you for a second," Rose remarked.

"Yeah, unfortunately that wasn't properly thought through ...," Maddie pondered.

"And pops gave you a good whoopin'," Emmett said with a goofy grin on his face.

"Meh." was all Maddie said.

* * *

><p><em>Two months ago ...<em>

_Maddie hated wearing a school uniform. But she hated the school her parents made her go to even more. It was a freakin' private school - for girls only._

_Esme and Carlisle had a sick sense of humor, _obviously_._

_Okay, maybe it was a tad bit her own fault since she managed to get herself kicked out of Forks Junior High, but come on!, that? ! A bit too harsh if you asked her._

_Maddie had managed to ruin her uniforms several times already. She ripped two, 'lost' one and stained three, but unfortunately Esme had purchased several sets for her, that's why she was still wearing the damn clothes._

_But now she finally made it: there were no more sets hanging in her closet. She only had the one left she was currently wearing._

_In order to ruin it, she went hunting while wearing it. No need to say that it was covered in mud and blood by the time she was full and went home. Esme had a fit and then told her she would wash the uniform as soon as she came back from the home-improvement market. Damn, Maddie had hoped it was ruined beyond remedy._

_So, while Esme was gone, and everybody else except for Edward as well, she decided to keep her Mom from saving the stupid uniform. As long as she had no uniform, she couldn't go to school, right? But she couldn't be too obvious about it, it needed to look accidental._

_Edward was upstairs in his room, listening to music. That was good, because he usually did not read minds when he was preoccupied with his favourite bands._

_Maddie grabbed her bowling ball from the closet in her room, then made her way downstairs to the laundry room. Opening the lit of the washing machine, she carefully put the heavy ball into it, closed the lit again and started the machine._

_Then she plunged herself down on the couch and watched the music channel._

_No need to say that after a minute Edward stormed down the stairs and yelled, "What is that noise?" Maddie shrugged her shoulders and just continued to watch TV, which was actually next to impossible - the washing machine was beyond loud._

_"What did you do? !" he asked his sister, almost growling the words._

_"Nothing!" she quickly said and then chanted 'nothing nothing nothing' over and over in her head, to keep herself from thinking about what she did mere minutes ago._

_The noise died down completely after a loud 'Bang!' could be heard._

_With his enhanced hearing, Edward had already located the source of the noise. He disappeared for a moment, then came back, looking furious._

_"Are you insane? !" he questioned Maddie, his eyes glaring daggers at her._

_"I wanted to wash it," she said meekly._

_"Keep your lies to yourself. You will explain this to Esme when she comes back. I'm staying out of this."_

_Well, he said he would stay out of it, but still got punished by Carlisle later on for not keeping an eye on his sister, haha._

_And Maddie ... she had to endure an half hour lecture from Esme, then was sent to her room with the words "Just wait until your father gets home!". _

Awesome.

_So she waited in nervous anticipation for one hour until she heard her Dad's Mercedes coming towards the house. Esme was probably briefing him about what his daughter had done this time, because it took him a couple of minutes until he appeared in her doorway._

_"Again, Madeline?" he asked, clearly annoyed with her._

_"What, Daddy?" she asked, eyes big and innocent._

_"Do not pretend you don't know what I am talking about. You have ruined a total of six uniforms and now _that_? ! You break the washing machine so the seventh one is ruined, too!"_

_"I didn't know it would break the machine, Dad!"_

_"Don't even go there, Madeline! You knew we would notice if you just broke the machine by hand, so you put your bowling ball in it! I cannot _believe_ you!" he ranted, raking his fingers through his hair - it was a reaction to stress._

_"Honestly, it was an accident!" she whined, hoping she could somehow make him believe her lie._

_"You lied to your mother downstairs and now you have the gall to lie to my face as well. Tell me, what did I tell you would happen if you lie again?" Carlisle asked, index finger pointing at her._

_Oh, _hell no_._

_"Please, Dad! I didn't mean to -," she tried, but got interrupted immediately._

_"You didn't mean to lie? But I think you did. Now tell me, what happens to someone who lies in this house?"_

_"They get spanked," Maddie murmured while looking at the floor._

_"Exactly, they get spanked. And what did I tell you would happen if you destroyed one more of your school clothings?"_

_"Another smacking," she whispered._

_"Yes. Another one, because you already received a spanking the last time you did it."_

_She said the only thing that seemed fitting at that moment. "I'm sorry."_

_"Are you now?"_

_"Please Daddy, ... I only did it because the other girls at school keep on bullying me! I don't wanna go back there, everybody _hates_ me!" She started dry-sobbing and looked so pitiful, that Carlisle was next to her in a flash and hugged her close. _

_"I had no idea ... why did you never tell us, sweetheart? We would have -" He was frantic with concern for his youngest daughter._

_"She's lying!" came from the other room._

Goddammit_. So not only did Esme tell Carlisle what happened, but Edward did as well. And Edward got obviously punished by Carlisle for not keeping an eye on her, so he used this moment for payback._

_Carlisle froze when he heard what Edward just said. So his daughter had lied _again_._

_He loosened the embrace, grabbed Maddie's upper arms and pushed her slightly away from himself in order to look her in the eyes. Maddie preferred to look away; Carlisle's face was the last thing she wanted to look at right now ... she was _so_ screwed._

_"You will look me in the eye right now and tell me again that you are on the receiving end of bullying at school."_

_She slowly looked up, guilt written all over her face, but she did not dare to utter a single word._

_Carlisle was angry. He pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, until he said, "I want you to stay in this room. I am not capable of dealing with you right now." And then, he left._

_She felt horrible. Well, the broken washer she did not give a damn about, but the lie about bullying and Carlisle's look of sheer despair as a reaction to it was something she regretted deeply. It would have been easier to have used her talent on him, to force him to believe her story instead of seeing his true concern about her well-being._

_It took Carlisle a full hour until he came back upstairs._

_The moment Maddie saw him, she sobbed; this time it wasn't an act, she truly felt awful._

_Carlisle sensed his daughter's distress and sat down on the bed next to her, hugging her close and soothing her._

_"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," Maddie managed to say between sobs._

_"Calm yourself, Madeline. Let us talk about it."_

_"No, it's all right, I'll go," she said and made to stand up, but Carlisle held her back._

_"You'll go? What are you talking about? You'll go where?" Confusing._

_"Away."_

_"Why would you go away?" What was his daughter talking about? Did she want to leave her family?_

_But she did not answer._

_"Neither I nor your mother nor your siblings want you to leave," he clarified for her._

_"Why?" She royally screwed up, why would they keep her?_

_"Sweetheart, you misbehaved and broke the rules, but that doesn't change that fact that you are our daughter. We love you no matter what."_

_"Really?" she asked in a strained voice, looking even younger that she actually was._

_"Yes, really. Now calm yourself, sweetheart."_

_After a couple of minutes, Carlisle pulled away to look at his daughter and ask, "All better now?"_

_She nodded. "All better."_

_"Good. Then shall we proceed?"_

_She sighed and nodded again._

_"Madeline, I don't want you to lie to us. It is disrespectful and a very bad habit. We need to be able to trust each other. But repeated lying breaks this trust. Do you understand that?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Do you understand why I am going to punish you?" he asked again._

_"Yes."_

_"Tell me why."_

_"Because I lied about breaking the washer and I lied about being bullied."_

_"What else did you do, Madeline?"_

_"I stained my uniform on purpose and wanted to keep Mom from fixing it," Maddie explained._

_"And you have been punished for that before, but decided to do it again. I cannot let it slide."_

_"I'm sorry," Maddie whispered, because she really was._

_"I believe you. Now come," he said, and waited for her to stand up so he could pull her across his lap. Her grey sweats were quickly pulled down and then the spanking started._

_Carlisle did not hold back as he let his hand crack down on her upturned behind, over and over again in a steady rhythm._

_Maddie tried not to make a sound; it was an embarrassing punishment after all._

_But when the pain in her backside got too intense, she couldn't hold back anymore and cried. She started squirming and kicking her legs as well, so Carlisle stopped for a short moment, pinned her kicking legs with his right one, and _Smack! Smack! Smack! _kept on peppering up her backside. The last four slaps out of the two dozen in total were aimed at her sensitive sit spots; the girl was supposed to feel the punishment for a while, so she could think about her mistakes and learn from them. It would prevent her from having a smarting behind in the future._

_The comforting hand on her back made Maddie realise that her punishment was over. She stirred, and her father pulled her sweatpants back up and helped her stand. She immediately hugged him and let her head rest against his chest. Carlisle hugged his daughter back, needing the comfort just as much as she did._

_"I am sorry I had to do this, princess, but you left me no choice."_

_"I forgive you," she replied cheekily and giggled. She was still in pain, of course, but the sobs and sniffles had subsided._

_"Still as bold as brass, my little one." He chuckled and ruffled her dark brown hair. His youngest daughter always knew the right moment to lift the mood._

_Maddie was, in addition to the spanking, grounded for a week by her mother as punishment for the broken washer. And to Maddie's horror, Esme had kept a brand-new school uniform hidden in her own closet - for Maddie to wear to school the next day._

* * *

><p>"Exactly, and the last time you used the washing machine the room was overflowing with foam! Esme was beside herself," Rose went on.<p>

"Haha, yeah, the look on her face was priceless," Emmett added dreamily.

"Besides, Esme said Maddie tends to ruin her clothing, so I will not allow her to do the laundry."

"What did you destroy?" Jasper asked, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Well, that ugly pink dress Esme got me and the yellow sweater. And my uniform ... a couple of times," Maddie listed.

Rose jaw dropped. "That dress was gorgeous! Why did you ruin it?"

"It was pink and there were flowers all over it! _Flowers!_ Ugh." Maddie started zapping through the channels again, the chat was starting to bore her.

"And what was wrong with the yellow sweater, huh?" Rose demanded.

_It was yellow maybe?_ "Duh. Ugly colour, go figure."

"Okay ... so you ripped it?" Rose obviously wanted to get the whole story.

"Nope, I washed it," she said with a devilish smile.

"Unbelievable," Jasper said and continued his way up the stairs and into his and Alice's room, while Rose went to do the laundry.

"So, what shall we do? ... Emmett?" Maddie said and looked at him expectantly.

"Hm, I don't know. Let's break something," he suggested playfully.

Maddie's eyes lit up at the idea.

"Joking, Tiny. There is nothing to break around here."

"Is too! I have some boo-," Maddie started to say.

"You are not seriously suggesting that right now, now are you Madeline?" Rosalie called from the laundry room. Shit, they talked a little too loud and she overheard.

Maddie hastily replied, "Joking, Rose!"

"Hilarious." came as a reply.

Rose finished up with the laundry and joined Emmett and Maddie in the living room.

"I am finished. What shall we do now?"

"Bowling?" Maddie suggested.

Rosalie shook her head no. "I don't think so, you are grounded."

"Come on! Carlisle and Esme aren't here anymore! We can do whatever the fuck we want!"

"Don't use that word in my presence. Better yet, don't use it at all. And you are still grounded for being held back after school." Ugh, Rose was being difficult again.

Maddie shrugged, completely ignoring the reprimand about using the f-word. "What they don't now, won't hurt 'em."

"We stay home tonight."

"Come on, Rosie, don't be like that," Emmett tried.

"No." She did not budge.

Emmett held his hands up in defeat; his little sister would not get her wish tonight.

"Fine," Maddie grumbled.

* * *

><p>They ended up watching some game show and Em and Maddie started making bets.<p>

"No! The blond one, for sure!" she said indignantly.

"Never ever! The guy with the tattoo is so going to win."

"The blond one!" she shouted, both sitting on the floor and inching closer to the screen.

"Which one do you mean anyways?" Emmett asked, nudging her in the side with his elbow.

"The sexy one, of course," she replied.

Emmett immediately sat up, a serious look on his face. "Okay, I don't want you to say that word _ever_ again."

"Huh? Which one?" _What's wrong with Emmett?_

"_Sexy_." Emmett spit it out as if it was vile and nasty.

"Why?"

"Because if you know what it means, then it means you are interested in boys and that is not going to happen," he stated authoritatively.

She started to laugh so hard, she would have suffocated if she were still human.

Rose came in from the dining room where she was going through a magazine; game shows were nothing worth watching, she said.

She looked confused, and Maddie was still laughing like a maniac. "You are hilarious, Em!"

"What did you say, Emmett?" Rose asked, suddenly curious.

But his face was blank. What was so funny about what he said? He really did not want her to date anyone!

"Hahaha, he said he doesn't want me to be interested in boys!"

"Oh Emmett." Rosalie smirked. Her big bear of a husband was really protective.

"What? I will not let any of these pubescent dick-driven teenagers anywhere near my innocent little baby sister!" he shouted insistently.

Maddie let herself fall over onto her side and put a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles that still escaped her mouth.

"Emmett, you cannot keep this up forever," Rose said, obviously amused.

"You'll see. And what are _you_ laughing at?" he questioned his sister and slapped her on the ass in order to make her stop making fun of him. He was dead serious after all.

"Oww! Sorry Em," she said while sitting up again and rubbing at her bottom, still giggling. "You're just so funny, you know. I'm seventeen!"

Yeah, she still did not get the concept of being a vampire: There is your physical age, and there is your vampire age. So actually ... she was barely three.

"I am still older than you, so you do as I say," he clarified, not even a hint of a smile on his face.

"Phh, Em, come on, you know _I_ could always make you do as _I_ say." She blinked her eyes a couple of times; all the laughing had made her eyes fill up with venom and so her vision became a bit blurry.

Rose was leaning with her hip against the backrest of the couch, arms folded and clearly enjoying the show that was taking place right in front of her.

"But ... you are not allowed to use your ability on any of us!" he said in order to remind her, but at the same time seemed a little stupid.

"Oh!" Maddie hit her forehead with her open hand as if she remembered something, eyes wide in shock. "Dammit! You are right!"

"See." Emmett grinned and nodded his head.

He so did not realise that his little sister was shitting him. Poor baby.

TBC...

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><p><strong>Good? Bad? Anything? Come on, party people, click the Review button and tell me! ALL of you are free to review, so get on with it *haha*<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, hello! Next chapter! It is not as long as the last one, clearly, but I hope you like it anyways!**

** Just to warn you: It will probably take a while for me to update again, because exams are coming up next week and I really need to start studying.**

** Maybe I'll post some chapters about Maddie's past to keep you occupied. ;-)**

** accounting professional: Nope, Jasper is not allowed to spank his siblings. He may ground them, though.**

** TM Twilight Girl: Oh, Thank you! And a big YES: Carlisle told her to behave while he is away. If she gets in trouble with her siblings, she gets in trouble with him, too. **

**And I just cannot let the Carlisle in my story be calm and patient all the time. People like that drive me crazy, actually. So he gets angry from time to time, but calms down after that.**

** Another YES: Somebody else will get spanked. Dundundun ... maybe even two somebodies, because I don't like Edward too much *evil laugh***

** patz13: School? Yes :-)**

** Gina: Maddie might get in trouble with Rosalie as well. I haven't written it yet, but I probably will.**

* * *

><p>Saturday was supposed to be cool.<p>

They all headed to Seattle for a nice, long shopping trip. Rose was finally allowed to drive again, so the girls took her car, the guys rode in Edward's. A little quarrel took place before that though; Edward didn't want to ride in Emmett's 'monster truck', Emmett didn't want to ride in Edwards 'toy car'.

But they settled it by vote (Jasper was on Edward's side) and were on their way.

Alice had chosen a mall where she wanted to spend the day and insisted on spending the _whole_ day there.

Rose liked shopping with Alice for a very simple reason: They both were interested in fashion and Alice always knew where to get the newest styles and stuff. But Maddie was a whole different matter. Shopping was always starting to bore her after a short while; too bad Alice shopped from opening time until closing time.

Besides, fashion was something Maddie wasn't really interested in. She liked to be comfortable, that's it. And since she was supposed to be thirteen, there were a lot of clothes she wasn't allowed to wear anyways. Or shoes ... she could never wear the fuck-me-heels Rose was so fond of. Rose did not dress like a hooker, she was classy, but still ... these shoes, ugh.

The boys spent their time at the same mall, of course, but in different shops. They loved, for whatever reason, the camping supply store. As if they would ever need flashlights that worked without batteries or sleeping bags. And then they would spend time at the book store, music store, game shop, or at the jeweller's where Jasper and Emmett purchased little, expensive gifts for their wives.

* * *

><p>"Oh, this is so cute! I'm going to get it for you." Alice beamed and took a blouse from the clothes rail.<p>

"No! I don't wear blouses, Alice! And it's ugly," Maddie said, eyeing the piece of clothing with distaste.

"You wear blouses every day. And this one is pretty," she replied while looking it over.

"I don't wear them because I _like_ them; I wear them because I _have to,_" Maddie clarified for Alice. Hopefully she'd understand and put that piece of shit back.

"Where is the difference?"

Maddie groaned. "I hate it."

Alice really couldn't care less if anyone liked the clothes she picked out. She buys it, you wear it, she throws it away and buys something new - the circle of life in Alice's world.

"There is only a thin line between love and hate," Alice remarked and continued to look around for more clothes.

"No, there is a six-lane highway between love and hate. And this blouse is definitely on the hate side, Alice." Maddie clearly did not like it when somebody picked out clothes for her, her closet was full of stuff she wouldn't even want to touch. Esme and Alice had their own idea about how Maddie should dress. At least Rose got her - most of the time anyways.

"Oh!" Alice eyes suddenly got as big as saucers, then she pushed the hideous blouse into Maddie's hands. "Okay, take it back, I found something way prettier!"

"Ugh." Maddie walked back to the rail and put the thing back. The moment she turned around, Alice was standing in front of her, holding a dress up on Maddie to see if it would fit.

"That's perfect. I'm going to get it for you. You need new clothes."

"I don't need new clothes!"

Alice looked her up and down, then said, "Pardon me." Then she cleared her throat and added, "you _desperately_ need new clothes." Maddie was wearing her favourite pair of light blue jeans and a purple hoodie, what was wrong with that?

"But this is pink ... or something!" Maddie tried to explain why she didn't want that dress.

"It's called salmon-coloured," her crazy pixie sister corrected.

"I'm not a fish!" she whined, then quickly scanned the store for her other sister and called, "Rose!"

Rosalie marched over to her two sisters, carrying a pair of black leather pants and two vests in her left hand. "Yes?"

"Make her stop." Maddie pointed at Alice.

"Let her have some fun, Maddie, all right?" Rose told her with a little smile.

"I wanna have some fun, too."

"Then take a look around and pick some clothes, that's what we are here for anyways," Rosalie explained.

Maddie sighed. "Fine."

Rose started to walk away, but turned around again to say, "And stay close."

_Stay close_. They were freakin' vampires; with their speed everything was close.

After twenty minutes Maddie felt absolutely bored. She did not like the shirts and skirts in this section, that's why she decided to take the escalator up to another floor where jeans and t-shirts were sold.

Maddie got excited when she saw some really cool t-shirts and wanted to scan through them to find the right size for her. But her fun did not last long, because somebody grabbed her roughly by the wrist and spun her around. Rose did not look too happy. "I told you to stay close! That means, stay were I can see you and do _not_ wander off!"

"What the - ? I am still at the same store! What's wrong with you?"

"You are coming with me," Rosalie commanded and wanted to pull her sister along with her, but Maddie did not move.

So Rose turned around and said, "Madeline, I told you an hour ago that we would eventually get to this section. There is no reason for you to just wander off on your own."

"But I was bored down there."

"I don't care. Come along now." Rose held out her hand for Maddie to take.

Woah, no way! Rosalie really wanted to take her by the hand like a toddler, just because she walked off? !

"Can you just stop treating me like a child? I won't get lost, you know."

Rosalie sighed and tried a different approach. "Maddie, I am aware of that. But you have to understand that we are responsible for you here. What if one of these clumsy humans gets hurt and you smell the blood? We might need to get you out of here, but that would be next to impossible if we don't know where to find you."

"So I am allowed to go to school but not to walk around a store? That doesn't make sense. At all." Maddie tried to reason.

Rosalie's patience snapped. "You are here with me and I want you to stay close, is that so hard to understand?"

"Yes, it is!" Maddie nearly stomped her foot in frustration.

"Just do as I say. Now come," Rose said exasperatedly.

"But I wanna stay here! I don't like it down there," Maddie whined. Rosalie hated whining, but still, Maddie thought, she had to try.

"Alice and I want to look at the dresses downstairs. When we are finished, we can go up here and you can look around as long as you wish. Just be patient."

When Maddie did not say anything, Rose just pulled her along to meet up with Alice again.

And in the end they really went back to the jeans section where Maddie could choose whatever she liked.

But when they got to the next shop, it was exactly the same pattern again.

* * *

><p>"Rosie?" Maddie asked after half an hour of sheer boredom. "Can I go to the games shop?"<p>

"No," Rose answered without looking away from the dress she was holding up.

"Why not? I bet Emmett is there."

"You can call him and he can pick you up here, but I don't want you to walk there on your own."

"It isn't far."

Rosalie tore her eyes away from the dress to glare at her sister. "I said No!"

"Rose, I am not a baby. I don't want Emmett to pick me up here; I _will_ walk to the stupid shop myself." Maddie huffed and turned around.

"No. you. won't." Rose words made Maddie turn back around.

They stood there and glared at each other.

Rosalie must have thought about going home early if Maddie did not behave herself, because ...

"No!" Alice yelled and stormed over to where her sisters were standing. "We will _not_ leave early, I will not allow it! There are still seven more dress shops and we haven't even looked for shoes yet!"

There was a short silence before Rose said, "Fine, we'll stay. But you explain to your sister why she cannot walk around on her own." Then she moved away to look at more dresses.

"Daddy will give you a bare bottom spanking," Alice said with a meaningful look in her eyes.

Huh.

Actually that was a good reason to not wander off.

"I'll stay with you," Maddie whispered in defeat and hung her head.

"Over there is a couch, sit down until we are finished," Rose said and pointed at something to Maddie's right, then continued to go through clothes.

So Maddie trudged in the direction Rose had pointed to and spotted the dark blue velvet couch. Well, at least she would be comfortable while being bored.

And then something happened that made Maddie's day. A boy around sixteen walked around the corner with an older woman, probably his Mom, and told her he'd wait for her over there until she was done shopping.

'Over there' was the couch Maddie was currently sitting on.

"Hey," he said and smiled at Maddie, flashing his straight, white teeth.

"Hi," she answered and gave him a small smile. He looked hot. Dark blond hair, piercing blue eyes and you could definitely see that he was in good shape.

"Are you taking a break from all the shopping or are you, like me, waiting?" he asked Maddie and sat down next to her.

"Waiting. My sisters are addicted to fashion, and I am not," she admitted.

"I just got my license, so I drove my Mom here and now I have to wait, too," the boy explained and made Maddie curious.

"Cool, what kind of a car are you driving?"

"My mom's Range Rover. Oh, by the way, my name is Daniel."

"I'm Maddie, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Maddie. Sooo ... do you come her often?" he asked, clearly feeling attracted to her.

"No, not really." She shrugged.

"And what school do you go to?"

"Oh, you probably have never heard of it; I'm not from around here."

"Interesting, so were do you come from?" he asked, his eyes bright with curiosity.

"Forks."

"Never heard of it," the boy, Daniel, admitted.

"Believe me, it's better that way."

He laughed. "So, since we are both waiting .. how about we go grab some coffee?"

Leave it to Alice to ruin everything.

"This is perfect, so perfect!" she hollered and appeared in front of Maddie, a midnight blue top in her hands. "You so have to try it on, like, right now," she added, pulled Maddie up from the couch and dragged her over to the fitting rooms.

"Stop that!" she whispered fiercely and Maddie ... well, Maddie did not have a clue what the pixie was talking about.

"Huh?" she asked and looked confused to say the least.

"You are not supposed to talk to strangers."

"You must be freakin' shitting me ..." Maddie turned around, ready to go back to the couch and chat some more with Daniel.

"Believe me, it is better that way," Alice said and she sounded sincere.

"Why are you so determined to make this day suck, huh?" Maddie demanded; she was finally enjoying herself, but was obviously not granted to do so.

"Okay ... this boy wants to get to know you, Maddie. He wants to buy you a coffee at the shop around the corner, but the moment you two leave the store, Emmett will see you, go all crazy on him and then he'll end up breaking his nose."

"_What? !_" Maddie could not believe what she just heard ... apparently she was surrounded by a bunch of fruit loops.

Alice just nodded.

"Why does Emmett see me anyways?" He was supposed to be with the guys, having a lot of fun unlike Maddie.

"Rose told him to come pick you up and take you to the game store."

"Aww, she did?" After Maddie gave her so much backtalk, Rose would still want her to have a good time, that was really sweet of her.

"Yes, and now stay here and try this on!"

"But you only used this as an excuse to pull me away from that guy," Maddie said, looking utterly confused.

"No. This is _perfect_, so try it on," Alice said and waited, but her sister did not move. "Chop-chop! Emmett will be here any minute, and I won't let you leave without showing me how much you like this top," Alice added and grinned like a Cheshire cat.

Dear Lord.

When Maddie was done playing Alice's personal Barbie, she saw Emmett talking to Rose.

"Emmett!" she called while skipping over to him.

"There you are, Tiny, let's go!" he laughed, threw her over his shoulder and marched out of the store.

Finally! Now she was able to have some fun.

* * *

><p>"Let's get this one," Maddie said and held up a PS2-Game.<p>

"Mad, we are shopping for the Xbox, not the PS2."

"But the PS2 is way better than the Xbox."

Emmett was scandalised at his sister's statement. "Is not!"

"Is too!" she retorted.

They glared at each other, until Maddie laughed.

"Ha, I won!" Emmett grinned from ear to ear.

"So?"

"We'll buy Xbox games," said Emmett and shrugged his shoulders.

"You know what? We could do both ... it's not like we have to choose, right?" Maddie smirked.

And so they didn't. Carlisle would have fun with the credit card billing.

* * *

><p>"Madeline, please get ready in about two hours. Edward is taking you to school." Jasper had walked downstairs to inform his sister.<p>

"Sure," Maddie replied without looking away from the screen - she and Emmett were playing a racing game that they had purchased at the mall.

"You two have been playing for the last seven hours, are you aware of that?"

"Sure," Emmett and Maddie said in unison, still not looking at their brother.

Jasper wanted to head back upstairs, but then he remembered something ...

"Madeline?"

"Hmm?" she asked, still staring at the screen, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth - she did that every time she needed to concentrate.

"Did you complete your homework?" Jasper queried.

"I'm busy right now," she answered distractedly.

"But you have surely started to do your homework?"

"Jasper, please, I am so beating Emmett right now. Come back later if you wanna chat." That came out a wee bit rude, underlined by a wave of annoyance towards Jasper.

Jasper walked purposefully over to his two siblings and pulled the plug from the console.

"Aww man!" and "What the fuck?" were the direct reactions to that.

"It is Monday morning and you haven't done your homework yet? !"

"There is still time!" she tried to reason with him.

"Grab your books and bring them down here," Jasper ordered. He could not believe that this little brat would spend all weekend playing around and not sparing a single thought about school.

"And I'll do that because ...?" Maddie looked at her brother with big eyes, waiting for him to explain.

"So I can help you finishing it. Now go."

"What about Emmett? He hasn't done his homework either." Maddie used her thumb to point at her older brother next to her.

"Go upstairs, Madeline."

She sighed and decided to do as she was told.

The moment she was out of earshot, Jasper addressed Emmett, clearly not pleased with his brother.

"Emmett! What kind of a role model are you?"

"Hey, I am not the role model brother, I am the cool one," Emmett corrected while stretching out on the couch.

"We were left in charge, Emmett, we need to make sure she completes her exercises. How can you just sit here and play racing games with her?"

"Well, we hadn't played that game before," he replied in a meek attempt to justify them playing instead of doing homework.

"Go upstairs and do your homework, Emmett."

Emmett laughed out loud. "_What did you just say?_"

"Go upstairs. Children are easily diverted, so I don't want you near her while she is doing her homework." It was bad enough that Emmett had kept his sister from doing her homework by playing with her; he could at least leave now and let her concentrate in silence.

"You better not say that in front of her, she hates to be called a child," Emmett informed his brother and went looking for his wife.

Jasper and Maddie sat at the dining room table, doing English, Maths and Geography homework. Jasper had promised her that, if there was still time after they were finished, she and Emmett could play again.

"All done!" Maddie said after finishing the last of her maths exercises.

"That was it?" Jasper asked skeptically.

"Yup."

"All right then," he said slowly. "How about you get changed now and then you may play your new game again until Edward takes you to school."

"Yaay! Thanks Jasper!" she said cheerfully and headed to her room.

TBC ...

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><p><strong>Actually, this chapter was longer than it is now. There was a lot more Jasper, but then I didn't like that part anymore. So I'll change it a bit and put it in the next chapter. Just to give you a hint what next chapter will be about: Jasper is very upset with Maddie. Why? You may guess :-)<strong>

** Don't forget to REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here you go, party people! I didn't have much time lately, but I managed to finish another chapter! Enjoy!**

**And in case you haven't noticed yet: I have updated 'Better times will come', too! So go read it right after this one. Kays?**

* * *

><p>Edward and Maddie got out of the silver Volvo and walked through the door that led to the kitchen.<p>

She was completely at ease - he was looking grim.

Jasper felt their emotions, but did not think much about it at that moment - his siblings were always like that.

But when he heard Edward tell Maddie to 'Tell him', he got suspicious.

Tell _whom_, or rather: Tell _what_?

He folded the newspaper and put it down on the coffee table, then stood up and walked into the kitchen where they were still standing.

"Hello," he greeted them casually.

"Hi," Maddie replied and made to walk out of the kitchen, but Edward said, "Jasper, Maddie has something to tell you."

She picked up her pace.

"Ah ah, come back here," Jasper ordered and waited for his sister to stop, huff, turn around, glare and _finally_ walk back towards them.

"Whazzup?" she said in a cheerful voice.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?" Jasper asked, arms crossed over his chest and leaning against the kitchen counter.

She thought about that. "If I'd _like_ ... nope, I'm good. But thanks for asking."

So Jasper looked back at Edward and waited for an explanation.

"I'll tell him," Edward threatened.

"Go for it. There is nothing to tell." She shrugged her shoulders as though she couldn't care less, but Jasper knew better. A tiny wave of nervousness hit him, rolling off of his youngest sister. _Interesting_, he thought.

"Madeline did not complete her homework this morning."

Jasper took his eyes off Edward and turned a penetrating look on Maddie.

"Why did you lie to me?"

She looked away. Edward could be _such_ a butthead ... what was it to him anyways?

"I _said_: Why did you lie to me? You would do well to answer my question."

"I was winning this morning, but you pulled the plug, so I wanted to play again," she said and pushed her bottom lip out.

"That is reason enough for you to lie to me? _Unbelievable,_" he replied and clenched his jaw.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"You do realise that you shot yourself in the foot with that move?"

"Huh?"

"You are grounded for the rest of the week, have no game console to play with and Carlisle will be informed."

Her jaw dropped. "The rest of the _week_? No way! It's only today!"

Jasper was being mean again, and she didn't like it.

"You _lied_ to me, so I am grounding you," he clarified for her.

"You can't!" Maddie wanted to call for Rose - but she would agree with Jasper, so that would be no good.

"Of course I can."

"But Carlisle said -"

"Carlisle said, I am allowed to ground you if you misbehave. And that is exactly what I am doing." Jasper did not budge, ugh.

"Neither the PS2 nor the Xbox belong to me, so you cannot take them away," Maddie tried to reason. They belonged to Emmett, after all.

"Emmett will understand."

"Argh!" Maddie walked out of the kitchen, but was stopped by Jasper, who said, "This conversation is not over yet."

So she turned around again, one eyebrow raised, and waited for him to go on.

"You did not serve detention today," he stated.

She just looked at him, knowing what his next question would be - and dreading it.

"Tell me why."

"My teacher did not notice," she said.

"Madeline, just tell the truth," Edward threw in.

Jasper narrowed his eyes at his youngest sister. "What did you do?"

Maddie shot a quick glance at Edward, but he did not look like he would be leaving anytime soon. And he looked determined to rat her out to Jasper. _Jerk_.

"I was just being myself," she tried.

"You used your ability on your teacher, I _cannot_ believe it," Jasper concluded and turned to the side, holding his palm to his forehead and taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Ha, I did not!" Now she was smug.

Jasper looked at Edward again, who suddenly let out an aggravated sigh.

"Fine, I tell you, since she obviously wants to beat around the bush. Madeline convinced one of her classmates to give her the homework."

"You took somebody else's homework and pretended it was yours? !"

Was he enraged? Yes he was, it seemed.

"Oh, come on! It isn't that bad," Maddie replied casually.

She was so offhand about this, that it actually shocked Jasper. "Yes, it is! It is lying _and_ stealing! You may rest assured that Carlisle will _not_ be impressed with your behaviour." He was fed up with her. And only being able to give her the ridiculous punishment of grounding her was making him angry. Hopefully Carlisle would tan her hide good when he'd come home.

"Hey, I don't bitch about you gift, so leave me the fuck alone." Why did everybody speak so badly of her ability? She found it to be quite useful actually.

"Do you really think this is the right time to mouth off to me?" Jasper was definitely mad now.

She just glared at him.

"Go to your room."

And so she did - not because Jasper told her to but because she wanted to get away from him.

* * *

><p>So, what was there to do now? The whole week was practically ruined! She couldn't go out, she couldn't play the new games, she couldn't do anything fun!<p>

Maddie was beyond furious. Why was Jasper in charge anyways? And since when was school so important? It wasn't like she would go to college - ever - so fuck education.

She _had_ to lie, Jasper was being unreasonable! Okay, he had helped her with her homework which was nice but _still!_ ... who was he to tell her what to do?

_Lying_ ... he practically forced her to lie! She was finally winning for heaven's sake and he pulled the freakin' plug! She needed the time for a rematch.

But the worst thing was: Jasper would tell Carlisle, who had already warned her about screwing up during his absence. Now she had to wait for days in nervous anticipation of what was to come.

But the question was ... did Jasper already tell Carlisle, or would he be doing so some time later? She so badly wanted to alter his memory, ugh.

Carlisle would make good of his promise and wallop her ass as soon as he came through the door. She _knew_ it.

Maybe she should call her parents herself ...

But if she cried, Esme would probably want to come back early and Maddie did not want to ruin their anniversary.

If she lied to them about what she had done and accused Jasper of being mean, they would want to talk to him and then he would tell them the truth and she would be screwed even more. Therefore - out of the question.

If she just told them the truth about what happened, they would be mad at her, too.

But maybe ... if she called them, explained to them what happened and be really remorseful ... maybe she would at least not be in trouble when they came home.

So she searched through her backpack for her phone then and called Carlisle.

He picked up on the second ring.

"_Hello Madeline! How are you, sweetheart?_"

"Not too good," she answered and made her voice sound sad.

"_What happened?_" He was worried; that much was clear in his voice.

"I was bad, Daddy. And now Jasper is mad at me."

"_You were bad? What did you do, hm?_"

"I didn't do all my homework, but told him I did because I wanted to play with Emmett," Maddie explained.

Carlisle sighed. "_Madeline, you know how we feel about lying._"

"I know, and that's why I called ... so you hear it from me. I'm really sorry, but I don't know what to do so Jasper won't be mad at me anymore."

"_Have you tried telling him that you are sorry?_" her father queried.

"No, not yet."

"_Then I advise you to do that._"

"Ok, Daddy."

"_Did he punish you for lying?_" Of course he would ask that.

"I'm not allowed to leave the house for the rest of the week and no video games." Maddie sighed.

"_That is reasonable._"

'Reasonable, my ass ...,' she thought but wisely kept it to herself.

"Are you mad at me, too, Daddy?" she asked in a little voice.

"_No sweetheart, I am not. Jasper is handling the situation well and you are showing remorse by calling us._"

_Strike, plan is working._

"Can I talk to Mommy?"

"Of course, dear. Here she is."

"Mommy?"

"_Yes, sweetie?_"

"Tu me manques," Maddie said in a sickenly sweet voice.

"_Oooh, I miss you too, Maddie! Are you being good for your siblings?_"

"Nuh-uh," Maddie replied, sounding very, very sad once again.

"_Oh, what happened?_"

"Dad will tell you."

"_All right. But you will behave for your siblings from now on?_"

"Yes, I'll try. It's hard, Mom. No matter what I do, it is always considered wrong."

"_Chin up, angel, I know you'll make the right choices. And we'll be back in only a few days and then everything can go back to normal_," Esme said lovingly.

"Okay, Mommy. Oh, I need to apologise to Jasper now."

"_You go do that. Goodbye, sweetie. We'll see you soon._"

"Bye, Mommy!"

And with that said, they hung up.

Okay ... Maddie didn't come completely clean about what happened, but maybe they wouldn't find out. Well, as long as Edward would shut the hell up. W_hen did he turn into such a tattletale?_

She definitely wanted to learn how to block her mind from him.

"Emmett?" she called from her room and waited. She wanted to talk to somebody sane. Well, it was Emmett, so - more or less sane.

Emmett was with her in an instant.

"Yeah?" he asked and walked into her room with her.

"Do you happen to know how to block out Edward?"

"You wanna shield your thoughts?"

Maddie nodded her head.

"Haha, Tiny, I am not good at that. Maybe you should ask Pops," he suggested, then asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"Because Edward is always in my head, and then he gets me in trouble."

"Oooh, what did you do now?" he asked, completely excited that he was about to hear a good story and plunged himself down on Maddie's bed.

"Well ... ," she hesitated.

"Come on, you can tell me. I won't judge, promise," he encouraged her to just spill it.

"Okay ... remember this morning when we were playing and I was winning and you were not? And then Jasper ruined everything?"

Emmett just laughed.

"Well, I lied to him about my homework, so we could play again. And then he asked me why I wasn't held back after school for not doing my homework."

"... and?" Emmett prompted.

"And .. I made a girl from my class give me her essay, so I wouldn't get caught. Honestly, she deserved it for always being a bitch."

"Did she get caught?"

"Of course! I told her to come clean right away with our teacher, and to give her an excuse," Maddie smirked.

"What did she say?"

"Exactly what I told her to say." Maddie smiled devilishly, then said in a high-pitched voice, "My dog ate my homework."

"Haha, the lamest excuse _ever_! Did she get in trouble?" Emmett was clearly enjoying himself.

"Yeah." Maddie giggled like a little girl. "The teacher will call her parents for being rude and for lying. I really hope she gets smacked."

"Phew. And now Jasper knows because of Edward."

"Yup, and he grounded me. Edward sucks."

"Oh, come on, don't be mad at him. It isn't his fault, he's just 'living in a world where nobody gets him'."

They laughed so hard, and at that precise moment they heard Edward's door being forcefully slammed shut and the stereo being turned up.

"Oops, somebody's mad." Emmett was having a blast.

But then Jasper stood in the door.

"Did you start your homework, Madeline?"

"No, you did not tell me to," she defended herself.

"I advise you to do it know. I will have a look at in in two hours, so be done until then."

"Edward's music is too loud, I couldn't concentrate even if I wanted to," Maddie whined.

"I'll tell him to turn it down. And Emmett - out."

Emmett just looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow.

Right then, Maddie remembered what Carlisle told her to do. "Jasper?"

"Yes?" Jasper came back into the room; he had already been on his way to tell Edward off.

"I am sorry for lying to you. It won't happen again."

"It is very considerate of you to apologise, even if you don't mean it."

Shit, he felt her emotions and she was not sorry, at all.

"Now get started," he said and left the room.

_What a dick._

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><p>"You started five minutes ago, didn't you?" Jasper asked when he looked over Maddie's homework - he could barely make out her handwriting.<p>

"So? I am finished with that one." She smiled.

"I'm sorry, but you have to write it again. There is no way I'll let you present this chicken scratch to your teacher."

"Are you being mean on purpose or does that come with your charming personality?" she asked.

He clenched his teeth and looked away - she was really trying his patience today.

"Write it again and try harder this time."

"But this is good enough," she stated petulantly, pushed the exercise book away from herself and crossed her arms over her chest.

"_Excuse me?_" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"I don't wanna write it again, where's the point?" she asked.

"The point _is_: Carlisle is paying a lot of money to send you to this school, so you should at least try to be a good student."

"He picked that the school - I didn't. Heck, he didn't even ask me!"

"It is clearly his fault, yes," he said without humor. "Now write it again. It'll only take you a couple of minutes until you're done."

Then he left her room once more.

Maddie knew that she should not defy him as much, but she was already grounded - there was nothing else that he could do!

Normally they got along more or less ok ... but when he was all bossy like that - ugh, no way.

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><p>"Why are you mad at Jasper?" Rose asked, clearly not knowing what was going on. She had been to the mall with Alice and they just came back home.<p>

She had joined her sister on the couch as soon as she saw her glare at Jasper when he walked by to help Alice with her purchases.

"Because he's a d-" "Don't you dare say that word!"

Maddie sighed. "I didn't want to say that word! I just wanted to say: Because he is a downright mean person." There, no swearword.

"Maddie," Rose said in a warning tone. Her sister had obviously done something she shouldn't have ...

"He grounded me the second I set a foot into the house, and he won't let me play any video games." Maddie sulked.

"What reason did he have?" Rosalie asked with narrowed eyes. She did not think that her sister was completely innocent in all this.

"He started it," Maddie defended herself.

"Can you just answer my question?"

"Fine, I lied to him this morning, so I and Emmett could finish the game."

Rose thought about it. "That seems fair."

"I know! We played the whole night and the moment I am in the lead, Jasper makes-!"

"I mean: It seems fair that he grounded you."

Maddie was taken aback. "Are you high?"

"Don't be rude," Rose said and slapped her sister lightly on the upper arm.

"Ugh."

"You know Carlisle will spank you for this," Rosalie reminded her.

"Nope, I've called him, we're cool." Maddie grinned.

"Lucky." was all she said, then stood and brought the million bags from various shops to her and Emmett's room.

And Maddie ... well Maddie did the only thing she could do for the rest of the week - lying on the couch and watch TV.

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><p><strong>REVIEW! I give you something to read, you give me something to read - Deal?<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Aaaah! I am so, so sorry you guys! I really should have added this conversation to the last chapter. But it wasn't completely finished, so I decided against it in order to update sooner.**

** It is a short chapter this time. I will be gone for the next couple of days, but I wanted to update before I leave. So, here you go!**

** And before I forget: Thank you for all your reviews! I love reading them! So keep 'em coming, eh ;-)**

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><p>Maddie was lying on her stomach on her bed - reading a book that she found on a shelf in the living room. She needed something to do for the next couple of days, so reading sounded good enough. Watching TV all the time was starting to bore her.<p>

Suddenly Rose barged into Maddie's room, stopped right next to her sister and let her hand crack down thrice on Maddie's behind, with a force that would break a human in half.

Huh? _OW!_

Maddie couldn't even say anything, she was completely stunned. So she quickly rolled onto her side - before Rosalie could decide to give her some more - sat up on her knees with her hands on her buttocks and looked at her sister open-mouthed and with wide eyes.

Whoever said Emmett was the strongest in this family obviously got it wrong. Those smacks hurt - a lot.

"_So you're stealing now? !_" Rosalie demanded, eyes sparkling with anger.

_Oh no _... how did she find out?

"Rose, I'm so-" "Don't you dare tell me that you are sorry, because I don't think you are!"

An angry Rose was definitely a scary Rose. Maddie wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

Then Rose turned to the side, let her fingers run through her blond locks and took a deep breath. She was beyond furious, but at least tried to calm herself. It was a futile attempt though.

"What's next, huh? Are you going to murder someone? Is that next on your list?"

"What? No! What are you talking about?"

Rose huffed angrily. "Tell me: What is wrong you?"

Maddie just looked at her with a desperate look on her face. "Well, right now I'm in pain ..."

"You deserve so much more for what you did," Rosalie replied while pointing a finger at her sister.

Maddie looked down at the floor.

"Now, I want you to sit down so we can talk about what _exactly_ happened. I really want to understand why you keep on misbehaving that much."

Maddie sat down next to Rose ('Ouch!') and waited for her to ask the first of a million questions.

"The most important question first: Why did you do it?"

"I didn't want to get in trouble," Maddie replied meekly.

Rose huffed, grabbed her sister by the wrist and made to pull her over her lap, but Maddie scooted away panic-stricken and shouted, "No! I'm serious!"

Rosalie let go of Maddie. "You get in trouble in order to not get in trouble?" This was _ridiculous_.

"Yeah, kind of. I didn't think anyone would find out," Maddie explained and scooted a little further away from Rose. Maddie had never been walloped by her sister - and wanted for it to stay that way. Rose has never been _that_ livid, it was really scary.

Rose was _that_ close to losing it. "Explain," she said through gritted teeth.

"I thought that if I didn't get in trouble at school, Jasper wouldn't find out that I lied to him."

"And the only possibility that came to your mind was _stealing_?" Glare.

"I had to act fast. Rose! I really did not plan it! I didn't think it through!" Madeline started to become desperate. And her bum hurt.

"Start from the beginning, you are confusing me."

"Okay .. I lied to Jasper, because he ruined our game."

Rosalie nodded. "Continue."

"Well, when I was at school I realised that that had been a really stupid move, because Jasper would find out about the lie if I got detention and I didn't want to get in trouble with him."

"Go on."

"It was two minutes before my last class, I had to act fast or I would get caught."

"That was when you chose to manipulate your classmate," Rosalie concluded.

"Yeah." Her sister nodded her head, but avoided Rose's eyes.

"Did you pick a specific girl or just the next best?"

"I chose a girl I don't like. And she doesn't like me," Maddie admitted.

"How so?"

Maddie looked at her, obviously internally debating whether to tell her or not.

Rose was far from patient today. "Maddie? I am waiting. I really want to know what is going on."

"We just don't get along, okay? It is as simple as that."

Rose sat there and waited for her sister to continue, who eventually did.

"From the first day on she has been acting bizarrely towards me. Told her clique to not talk to me and stuff. As if I would want to be friends with thirteen-year-olds. But now she goes one step further, because I ignore her. So last week, she poured chocolate milk all over my essay, ruining it. Just to get me in trouble."

"Did you tell your teacher?"

Maddie snorted. "No? I chose detention."

Rose tried to comprehend her sister's trains of thought. And then it clicked.

Maddie did not primarily act out of selfishness - she acted out of vengeance.

An eye for an eye.

Well, lying to Jasper had been a childish mistake. And since she still had a score to settle with her classmate, she manipulated her. That way she got even with that girl and remedied her mistake of lying. Win-win.

That was a completely different motivation than what Rose thought at first.

It never crossed Maddie's mind that she was actually stealing from her classmate - she just wanted to get square.

"Why didn't you tell your teacher that she ruined your essay?"

"I don't tattle," Maddie stated and she sounded a little offended that Rose would even consider asking her something like that.

"Oh, Madeline." Rose pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.

"Hmm?" Maddie bent towards Rose a bit in order to see her face. An that moment Maddie looked so clueless, and so young.

"Why do you make it so hard for yourself?" Rose asked in exasperation, looking up.

"What do you mean?" She still had no idea what Rose was talking about.

"It is not tattling if somebody doesn't treat you right. If you had told your teacher right away, you wouldn't be in trouble now."

"But I can handle things myself," Maddie replied petulantly.

"No, you can't!" And then Rosalie groaned. "Maddie, you took revenge!"

Maddie nodded her head in affirmation, but her eyes showed confusion at Rose's reaction. _What was she implying?_

All of a sudden, Rose stood up and said, "I want you to stay in your room for the rest of the day."

_Huh?_ "Oh, come on! I'm grounded for the rest of the week!"

"Do as I say," Rose ordered strictly and walked out of her sister's room, closing the door behind herself.

Dear Lord.

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><p><strong>Short, I know. Next chapter will have a lot of Rose in it.<strong>

** Does Rose's conclusion make any sense? Well, it did in my head but what about you? REVIEW and tell me!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm back! Yaaay :-) And thanks to my Ipod, I was able to read your reviews over the last couple of days and even write half of this chapter on my drive back! Have fun!**

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><p>Rosalie closed the door of Maddie's room behind herself and then let herself lean against the wall, closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.<p>

What she just found out had caught her off-guard and she did not know how to handle the situation right now.

Mere minutes ago she was beyond mad at her sister - Jasper had told her about the stealing. And since Maddie did not lose one word about _that _earlier_, _she figured that she had lied to her, too. But she couldn't get over the fact that her youngest sister, the one she felt utterly responsible for, had _stolen_ from someone. That's the limit.

She knew that Maddie was quite naughty at times. But stealing ... stealing was something criminals did, but not her little sister - she would make sure that it would _never_ happen again.

So in the end her temper and disappointment made her storm into Maddie's room and just smack her. Rose wasn't in a position to discipline Maddie, but right then she did not care at all. Maddie should know just _how_ infuriated she was.

And when Rose had her sister's full attention, she could finally find out what exactly had gotten into her.

During the conversation, however, it became apparent that Maddie did not mean to steal but to cover up her lie to Jasper and to get even with a girl from her class - and that was why Rosalie suddenly felt the need to leave her sisters room immediately.

Little Maddie had avenged herself. Of course the reason and the action weren't that severe, but still, it was vengeance nonetheless.

Now, how was she supposed to get Maddie to understand that taking revenge was wrong? How could she, Rosalie Lillian Hale, possibly lecture her younger sister about the wrongs of taking revenge if she did so years ago as well?

She had killed several men - to get her revenge. They had abused and beaten her, and then left her in the streets to die. Because of that fateful night, she got turned into a vampire.

Maddie did not know anything about Rose's background - and Rose was determined to keep it that way. It wouldn't be beneficial to confront a fourteen-year-old with what she had gone through; Maddie shouldn't live with mistrust towards boys and men.

And even though Maddie had no clue of what Rose had done all those years ago, it felt wrong for Rose to chastise her sister for the wish to take revenge.

She was at a loss of words right then and there. So it was probably the best to just withdraw herself from Maddie's room to have some time to think.

Rose didn't know everything about her sister, but some things became clear now: Maddie had never gotten the chance to take revenge upon what happened to her in her human life, and that feeling obviously kinda stuck. She probably didn't even understand why the feeling of injustice was omnipresent for her; her memories had faded some, but her feelings hadn't.

So how could she possibly explain to her that she had to ignore that urge, which she had already felt as a human, and to not avenge herself? She didn't want for Maddie to feel the need to take vengeance every time someone provoked her.

At least Maddie couldn't get in any trouble now - she was confined to her room, after all.

Rose then decided it would be best to go on a hunt in order to clear her head and to prepare herself for a much-needed talk between herself and Maddie.

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><p>"Maddie, are you ready? We're leaving for school in five minutes," Edward said. It was Tuesday morning and Maddie was lounging in the living room, watching TV. Edward had been playing the piano until a quick look at the clock on the mantelpiece told him that it was time to get ready.<p>

"No!" was the immediate answer to his question.

"Then I advise you to hurry now, we do not want to be late," Edward stated.

"No!"

_That_ word again.

"Pardon me?" He looked slightly confused. "Care to tell me why?"

"You told on me yesterday. I'm not driving with you." Maddie had her arms crossed over her chest and was slightly sulky-looking.

"Maddie, I couldn't let you get away with theft. I am sorry that you are upset right now but that does not change the fact that stealing is wrong and you must not do it. Now, get ready please."

"No, I'm not driving with you," his sister said with finality in her voice.

"Stop acting like a stubborn child!" he suddenly shouted, completely frustrated with her; he wasn't exactly known for his smooth temper.

"What's going on here?" Emmett asked just as he entered the living room. He had heard Edward raising his voice and decided to better take a look at what was happening.

"Madeline is being difficult again. She said she doesn't want me to take her to school," Edward explained with his arms crossed, glaring at Maddie.

"Is that true, Maddie?" Emmett addressed his sister.

She nodded her head in response.

Looking at Edward, Emmett said, "No worries, I'll take her to school then." He then turned to Maddie and asked cheerfully, "Would you like that, Tiny?"

"Yay! Thank you Emmett!" she exclaimed happily.

"Good. Then get changed, grab your stuff and we're good to go."

Maddie immediately jumped up from the couch and hurried upstairs.

She reached the top floor in a matter of seconds, then called down the stairs, "Em? Your music or mine?"

"You choose something, Tiny, whatever you like."

"Okay!"

Emmett grinned at Edward, saying, "There. No problem." Then he walked into the kitchen to wait for his baby sister.

Maddie stormed down the stairs with a big smile plastered on her face. She had changed into her uniform, had her backpack over one shoulder and a CD in hand.

"Is Rose coming with us?" she asked and opened the door to the garage.

"No, she isn't ready yet. She'll ride with Edward and the others today. Come on, let's go."

"Oh, okay."

"We are leaving. See you later!" Emmett called to let his siblings know that he and Maddie were off now. Maddie quickly added "Bye!" before they walked out of the kitchen and into the garage, where Emmett's huge Jeep was parked.

Maddie pushed her CD into the player in the car, while Emmett maneuvered the Jeep out of the garage and then sped off towards the street.

"Rose was very upset with you yesterday, wasn't she? I heard her smack you," he said and glanced at her.

Maddie groaned. "Yep, and it wasn't pretty."

"I can imagine. I felt sorry for you," Emmett said and grimaced.

"Then why didn't you come and help me? You could have tried to calm her down some!" Maddie slapped him lightly on the upper arm and put on a fake glare.

Em frantically shook his head. "Nuh-uh. When Rose is like that, I try not to get in her way until she's calm again."

"You are _great_ big brother, you know that?"

He just laughed. "Come on, Rose would never harm you."

"Yeah, I know," Maddie replied, all the while nodding her head to the beat of the music. "But hey, who's going to pick me up later? Or can I walk home?"

Emmett grinned over at Maddie. "Nope, I'll be there. I just skip my last period."

Since Edward and Alice were in a different grade than the others, they had different timetables as well. Edward's timetable made it possible for him to pick his sister up after school most days of the week. Emmett's - not so much. But today was an exception; Maddie really did not want to ride with Edward.

So Emmett dropped his little sister off at her school, wished her a nice and trouble-free day and promised to pick her up on time.

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><p><strong>The next chapter will hopefully be finished by tomorrow, I'll try. Don't forget to REVIEW!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Next update! I really wanted to update yesterday, but unfortunately ... I didn't.**

**It just wasn't finished, but it is now! Enjoy!**

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><p>"Hey my cutest little sister!" Emmett exlaimed when he saw Maddie coming out of the main entrance of her school.<p>

She giggled and skipped over to where he was standing. He hugged her close with one arm, then led her to his car and opened the passenger door for his sister to get in.

"Thank you, Sir." She curtsied and climbed in.

"So? How was school?" he asked when he sat down in the driver's seat and started the car.

"Stupid, as always. You know that." Maddie groaned and fumbled with the CD player.

"Yup, and that's why I am so happy that you," and he pointed at her, "and me," and he pointed at himself, "are driving home now and play some games. I would have had history lesson right now."

Maddie drew in a sharp breath. "Uuh, I don't know about that." Jasper was still at school, but Maddie really did not want to risk getting in trouble with him again.

"Oh, come on!" Emmett exclaimed and nudged her with his elbow.

"Jasper said I'm not allowed to play video games. He took the consoles away," Maddie said, and she sounded a little embarrassed.

"He did _what?_ But they are mine!" he complained, then added, "No offence, you know you can always play with them, right? But still, they are mine! He cannot take them away!"

"No offence taken. But he said you'd understand." Maddie smirked and started to laugh - Emmett was too funny when he whined like a five-year-old.

"And all that because of one little fib you told? He is definitely overreacting."

"I know, he hates me!" Maddie returned.

"Hahaha, no, Tiny, he does not, and that is the problem actually."

"Huh?"

"He cares about you. But your behaviour is bothering him."

"Well, _his_ behaviour is bothering _me,_" she stated petulantly, which made Emmett laugh.

"But hey, the others won't be home. What do you wanna do?"

"I bet Edward's home ..."

"Oh, right." Emmett thought for a moment. "Wanna go to the store?"

"Em, I'm grounded." _Duh._

"I know, but when you really need something your grounding is void," he explained to her as if she were a stupid child.

"And what do I need?" Maddie asked skeptically.

Emmett just reached into his sister's backpack and pulled out a pencil. He held it in his fist, pushed his thumb against the upper part and broke it in half. "A new pencil is what you need." And he smirked.

Maddie laughed out loud. So they were going to the store.

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><p>Dammit. At the time the two came home, all the others were already there. So Emmett drove into the garage, parked his Jeep next to Edward's Volvo and they got out of the car.<p>

Jasper suddenly appeared and asked with narrowed eyes, "Where have you two been?"

"I picked Maddie up," Emmett said and locked the door of his car.

"School ended over an hour ago. Or did she earn herself another detention?" _Another? Screw you._

"No, she did not. We went to the store," Emmett explained.

Jasper addressed his sister now. "Madeline, you are grounded. You know what that means."

"Sure." She shrugged her shoulders and left the garage through the door which led to the kitchen.

"Go to your room!" he called over his shoulder after her.

Emmett felt a bit guilty that Maddie got sent to her room - going to the store was his idea after all. "Jasper, don't be like that. We bought school things."

"You could have brought her home first."

"She is home now, nothing happened," Emmett said while rolling his eyes.

"Don't do that again, Emmett, she must come home immediately after school when she is grounded."

"Sure, bro." Emmett patted Jasper on the shoulder and walked into the kitchen, leaving his brother behind.

But Jasper followed him, of course, and was obviously not done talking. "I am serious. How is she supposed to learn from her grounding if you take her shopping?"

"Cut the girl some slack! You grounded her and took away _my_ gaming consoles. Half an hour at the store doesn't affect that stupid grounding all that much."

"Emmett, just stop undermining my authority! I was left in charge and-"

"What are you two bickering about?" Rose had entered the kitchen and crossed her arms over her chest. She assumed something had happened since her husband and sister came home later than expected.

"He took Maddie shopping today," Jasper informed his sister.

Rosalie huffed. "Emmett! She is not supposed to go anywhere except school and home!"

"And hunting," Emmett added smugly.

"Yes, but you may rest assured that you will not be the one to take her hunting today," Rose said and headed back to the living room where she had been reading. That was typically Emmett - he acted without thinking.

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><p>Later that day, Maddie got an idea. Not just any idea - it was a <em>great<em> idea. So she tip-toed down the stairs and stopped in front of Emmett and Rose's room.

"Hey, Em?" she whispered.

"What's up, Tiny? Come in!" Emmett called from the other side of the door.

Maddie entered the room and closed the door behind herself. Then she walked over to the huge bed in the middle of the room and sat down, pulled her legs up and made herself comfortable.

She looked at her brother, who was sitting on his desk chair opposite to the bed.

"Emmett," she said stony-faced, "it's _on_."

Em stared at her for a moment, then smirked. "Really?"

"Uh-huh." She grinned and nodded her head like a maniac.

"Awesome, what do we do? Pillow fight?"

Weeks ago, Emmett had challenged his little sister to some games. They had already done the water bombs war ... which ended badly. Esme's plants drowned, the house was muddy from top to bottom and Carlisle had to get a new mattress for Maddie since hers was completely _soaked_ and they couldn't get it dry again. Yep, Emmett had had a lot of fun throwing water bombs through the open window into her room. They were in deep shit for that. And Carlisle told them that if he _ever _saw one of them with a water balloon in hand again, he would spank them on the spot without hesitating. Yes, delightful prospect. He even forbade them to compete with each other.

Anyways, there were still a lot of possibilities for them to compete while their parents were away. And Maddie had just _the_ idea.

"Pillow fight," Maddie snorted. "What a lame idea. No, we are doing something way more ... interesting."

"So? Spill!" Emmett was excited beyond belief.

"Nah, I'll surprise ya. But you may choose the day."

"Friday!"

She narrowed her eyes, thinking about something. "When are Mom and Dad coming back?"

"Saturday," Em answered with confidence.

"Okay then, Friday it is," Maddie said, but then remembered something. "Oh wait, what about the hunting trip?"

Jasper had planned a long hunting trip for all of them on Friday after school. In order to make hunting more varied, they were supposed to go to a wooded mountain range that was a three hours' drive away from Forks where heaps of mountain lions could be found.

Emmett thought it over.

"Easy. You and me go hunting on Thursday, because you are soooooooooo hungry that you simply cannot wait anymore."

"Cool." Maddie nodded. "No! Rose is taking me hunting today!"

"Just drain a rabbit or something, then."

"All right. I'll-"

Just then, Rose peeped into the room and said exasperatedly, "Maddie, I told you to get changed!" Then she sighed. "Come now," she added and waited at the door for Maddie to join her.

Maddie walked over to Rose, waved Emmett goodbye and made her way up to her room to change into old clothes for the hunt.

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><p><strong>Fyi: It is Tuesday in this story right now, but we will jump right to Friday in my next chapter. I just have no idea what could happen during these other days. But Friday will be ... interesting ;-) Is that ok with you? Otherwise you have to send me some ideas, got it?<strong>

**Aaaand ... don't forget to REVIEW! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Here we go again! **

**I really hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**I plan on updating my other story 'Better times will come' today as well, so please check it out when you're done reading this chapter ;-)**

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><p>It was Thursday night when Maddie decided it was time to follow through with the plan. She left her room, walked down a flight of stairs and came to a halt in front of a closed door. She knew that Jasper was in there, so she knocked on the door once and waited for him to allow her to enter. When he did, she walked inside.<p>

"Jasper?"

"What's on your mind, Madeline?" Jasper queried and put the glue, which he was holding in his hand, down onto the white desk. He liked model ships, and whenever the house was silent enough he enjoyed putting the ships together. He said it would relax his mind - whatever that meant.

He turned around on his desk chair to face his sister and waited for her to answer.

"Can I go hunting?"

"Now?" That surprised him. She went hunting on Tuesday, and they had a trip planned for tomorrow. Vampires could go two weeks without drinking blood, but they made Maddie hunt twice a week. Therefore it was hard to judge by the colour of her eyes alone if she was really feeling the need to feed or not.

"Yes, please." She nodded her head.

"What about our trip tomorrow? Can't you wait another day or is it really that bad?" He was slightly concerned; they couldn't sent her off to school when she wasn't well fed - it would be too risky. And Esme and Carlisle wouldn't be too impressed if the baby of the family wasn't taken care of.

"I'm thirsty," she replied, bottom lip protruding and puppy dog eyes showing.

"You may go, of course. I don't want to keep you here when you have to hunt. Who is going to accompany you?"

"I'll ask Emmett!" she exclaimed happily and stormed down the hallway until she reached the door to Emmett and Rose's room. She didn't even bother to close Jasper's door behind herself.

"Em! Wanna go hunting?" she shouted and hopped from one foot to another, knocking a weird rhythm on the door.

"Sure thing!" he answered and opened his door immediately.

"Jasper? Emmett is taking me!" she called.

"Yes, I heard that. You two aren't exactly quiet," Jasper remarked dryly.

"Sorry! Bye!" Maddie called out and Emmett laughed.

They left promptly, and Jasper - well, Jasper could go back to working on his model ships in peace and quiet.

* * *

><p>Two hours later they returned home. Maddie bent down to take her shoes off right at the front door - she really didn't want to clean the house before Esme came back home. When she straightened up again, Alice was suddenly standing in front of her.<p>

"Woah, Alice!" _Where did she come from?_

"You'll stay home tomorrow!" the pixie said and pulled her sister over into the living room. She pushed Maddie gently down into one of the big, comfortable armchairs while she sat down on the cream-coloured couch facing her.

"Huh?" Alice wasn't exactly precise most of the time ...

Alice cleared her throat, then explained, "A classmate of yours will have a little ... accident during your French class tomorrow."

"Huh. What kind of accident?" Now that wasn't fair. School was so boring and the moment something exciting would happen, Maddie wasn't allowed to be there to witness it.

"She'll pick her nose until it starts bleeding," Alice replied with a slightly grossed out facial expression, clearly remembering what she had just seen in her vision.

"Ewww." Maddie shuddered - she didn't want to witness _that_. "Okay, no school." Then she quickly asked, "Hey, which girl?"

Alice giggled. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yes! I don't want her touching me with her bogey-fingers! That's just ... _nasty_!" Maddie exclaimed in a disgusted tone.

"I don't know her name, so I cannot tell you. But you can't go to school tomorrow, sorry."

Haha, _sorry_ ... that was _awesome_!

"Can I stay home alone?" A small, hopeful smile played on Maddie's lips. Never before had she stayed home on her own, neither here nor at the Denali's - it would be a welcome change.

"No, you can't." Jasper had entered the living room at that very moment and sat down next to his wife, putting an arm around her shoulders and kissing her on the cheek. Alice looked up at him with a smile on her face and leaned into his embrace.

"... okay? Who's staying with me then?" _Please say Emmett, please say Emmett, please -_

"I will." _Crap_.

"Let _me_ choose!" Maddie whined - she didn't want Jasper to stay with her.

"No. You'll choose Emmett, and then he'll most likely take you shopping and to amusement parks and I don't know what all."

"No, he won't!"

"Madeline, this is not up for discussion."

She leaned back, crossed her arms and pouted. That obviously didn't make an impression on Jasper; he was completely oblivious to his sister's sulking. He just sat there, his fingers intertwined with Alice's and had only eyes for her, his wife.

When Maddie realised that she was quite unsuccessful with her pouting, she tried a different approach. "But I've been good the last couple of days." she said softly.

"That is true, try to keep it that way," Jasper commented.

He could feel Maddie's disappointment right then. He didn't mean to make her miserable, but he just didn't trust Emmett to stick to Maddie's grounding.

"Come now... is it that bad if I stay home with you?"

"No ... but I want Emmett," Maddie replied in a saddish voice and played with the hem of her shirt - which had blood stains on the front due to the deer she had beheaded half an hour ago.

It would be perfect if the two of them could stay home all day. They would have so much more time for their game - and for cleaning up, of course.

"Let's go upstairs, you really should get changed," Alice piped up, grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her up the stairs.

As soon as they reached the top floor, Alice whispered, "You and Emmett shouldn't play that game, someone might find out."

"But we would start in the morning if Emmett stays here!"

Alice looked her sister straight in the eye for a minute, then said with a mischievous smile, "Let me do your hair every morning for two weeks and I help you."

_Interesting._

"One week," Maddie bargained.

"Do you want me to just talk to Jasper or do you want me to change his mind?" Alice had seated herself on Maddie's desk chair and let her fingers drum on the table, all the while smirking at her sister.

Maddie sighed. "But two weeks? Come on, Alice, be fair."

"All right, two weeks _and_ you'll wear what I tell you to."

Maddie's jaw dropped. "_What?_ You just made it worse!"

"Oh." Alice pretended to think about that. "Did I?" she said with mock horror.

Then Maddie whined. "Alice ..."

"I've always wondered what pink bedclothes would look like on your bed," Alice mused.

"NO!" Maddie shouted panic-stricken and jumped onto her bed, hugging her dark purple blanket protectively to herself. "Okay, two weeks hair and clothes. But you convince Jasper to let Emmett stay with me tomorrow. _Now_."

Whoa, that pixie really was a mean negotiant.

"Deal!" Alice squealed, jumped up and hugged her sister close. Having siblings was _great!_

And Alice indeed managed to change Jasper's mind ... Maddie had no idea how (and she did so not want to find out), but it worked and that was all that mattered at the moment.

And Thank God it had worked - Maddie had ordered a big package full of everything they'd need for the next day via Internet. With Emmett's credit card, of course. Luckily she remembered in time that she couldn't use Carlisle's or he might find out.

* * *

><p>Friday morning started off great. Maddie and Emmett watched cartoons, while Jasper called Maddie's school and excused her for the day. She had a bad case of the common cold and couldn't even leave the bed - poor thing.<p>

Their siblings left the house when it was time for school; so now it was time to play.

There was only one problem: The delivery man hadn't shown up yet. Ugh.

But finally, around eleven o'clock, Maddie heard the distinct sound of a car approaching. It was definitely not a car she knew, so it had to be her package arriving. And lucky her, it was.

Out of sheer joy, she nearly ripped the door off its hinges when she opened it. Humans were slow; Maddie shifted from one foot to the other until that delivery guy was finally standing in front of her after twenty-nine long seconds. She signed the ticket and wished him a nice day.

"Emmy!" Maddie called from the foyer after closing the door behind herself, a big cardboard box resting on the floor next to her.

Her brother rumbled down the stairs just seconds later and looked at her expectantly.

"Tiny?"

"Look," she said and grinned from ear to ear.

"It's a box," he said matter-of-factly.

"Ugh, Em, open it!"

So he grabbed it and carried it over into the kitchen where he placed it on the counter. Then he looked through the drawers for a pair of scissors.

"Just rip it open, come on!" Maddie was growing impatient.

"Well, if you say so." He grinned and opened the box in one swift motion and looked ... confused.

"What is that? !"

"Streamer spray." Maddie grinned.

"Oh my ... fifty cans? Are you planning what I think you're planning?"

Maddie grinned and nodded her head in excitement. "It is time for the ultimate streamer spray fight!"

He laughed out loud, picked his sister up and spun her around in a circle.

"Fantastic!" he cheered.

"Blue or red?" Maddie asked after he set her back down on her feet again.

"Blue, of course," Emmett replied while pressing a blue spray can protectively to his chest.

"I'll be red, then."

"Are we playing outside? That way we don't have to clean up afterwards, you know," Emmett suggested. Well, only if they would play far away from the house ... if they would play in the backyard, they would still need to clean up.

"Em, I'm grounded. You know we had to promise to not leave the house. You can't just break a promise."

"Well, no problem. We battle in here, then."

"Exactly. Just have to be quick about the cleaning up part, Alice warned me."

"What did she say?"

Maddie started explaining. "We shouldn't break anything and clean up _very_ quickly. Well, she said we shouldn't do this in the first place because somebody might find out, but whatever."

"Fair enough."

"How do we do this?"

"Let's hide the ammunition around the house, then I can start kicking your butt," Emmett suggested.

"You wish!" Maddie was giddy with excitement - she would win this time!

They met in the living room fifteen minutes later when everything was well hidden. Maddie had put her cans in her walk-in closet, under her bed, in Edward's jacket that hung on the hook in the closet next to the front door, in the cabinet under the sink, in the toilet, under the pillows on the couch in the living room, in the oven, the fridge, the flowerpot of the indoor plant which stood in the foyer, ... you get the idea.

Twenty-four cans of hers were hidden all around the house - the last one she had kept in the pocket of her baggy sweat pants. These pants were awesome - why wouldn't Alice get that?

She had changed back into them the moment her siblings walked out of the door. You cannot do a streamer spray battle in a cord skirt, now can you? Her hair - well, she couldn't change anything about that. Alice had slightly curled Maddie's hair this morning - it looked quite nice, actually.

"Ready?" Emmett asked, when Maddie walked back into the room.

She just nodded her head in response - a big, sly smile plastered across her face.

"Steady?" Emmett inched closer towards the back of the armchair.

Maddie jumped behind the couch, so the backrest would offer her protection.

"GO!" Emmett shouted, drew his can and started to spray in the direction Maddie was hiding.

She waited until he stopped spraying, then she looked over the backrest and attacked.

They were having a blast, chased each other through the entire house, including the garage and the patio. That was still a part of the house, right?

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><p>Three and a half hours later, Emmett and Maddie had nearly used up all of their ammunition. The streamers were covering the inside of the house from top to bottom; it looked like colorful spiderwebs, spun by a very gay and shitfaced spider.<p>

But the two were so caught up in the game that they didn't really notice anything else around them, like what their home looked like, or even what got broken while they were storming through the house.

Yes, two picture frames and one vase were lying in broken fragments on the ground. One cupboard in the kitchen was missing a door and Maddie's desk chair couldn't be recognised as a chair anymore. Actually, that wasn't too bad.

The end of the battle was close and it was normally the best part - it would show if either Emmett or Maddie won.

So they ran back into the living room for the grand finale when suddenly a sound met their ears.

_Car doors being shut._

Maddie and Emmett both stopped dead in their tracks.

Then ...

_approaching footsteps._

They looked at each other, eyes wide with shock.

If they were still human, their hearts would have stopped beating right at that moment.

And then ... the kitchen door opened.

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><p><strong> Tee-hee, ... wanna take a guess at who's coming home?<strong>

** REVIEW and tell me what you think!**

**Btw: There is a huge possibility that reviews make me update faster ... just saying :-D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Weeeeee! I LOVE REVIEWS! **

**And to show you how grateful I am that you reviewed my story, I update sooner! This chapter was far from done, but I didn't want to let you wait any longer. So I decided to add a flashback, which was a lot of fun to write, and the chapter got longer and longer and ... you get the idea. But I think the flashback fits nicely, wouldn't you agree?**

** You may read now :-)**

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><p>The distinct sound of their parents' voices hit them the moment the kitchen door opened.<p>

Maddie was drawn between shock and joy - joy overweighted.

She stormed as quickly as she could into the kitchen and yelled, "Mommy!"

Then she ran straight into her mother's arms and hugged her close.

It was so good to have Esme back. She was like a calm anchor in this house and Maddie really had missed her Mom.

"Oh, sweetie, how I missed you!" Esme cooed and hugged her daughter back. She lovingly placed a kiss on Maddie's cheek and stroked her hair affectionately, frowning a little at the state her daughter was in ...

Carlisle slipped passed the two and put the suitcases on the floor in the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Maddie shouted and switched from her mother straight to her Dad.

"I am so glad to see you! Did you have a good time, dear?" Carlisle asked and enjoyed the hug. He had missed his children and, even though he and his wife had a marvellous time in Paris, he was happy to be back home.

"I did!" Maddie exclaimed and let go of her father. But then ... then she remembered that she and Emmett were actually still not finished playing a game - a game they were _probably_ not allowed to play.

"Why are you home, sweetheart?" Esme asked suddenly in a concerned tone, cupping her daughter's cheek with one hand while pulling a blue string out of Maddie's hair.

"Accident at school, Alice wouldn't let me attend classes," Maddie answered straight away and slowly backed off.

"And what is that covering you?"

Maddie backed off further until she ran backwards into Emmett. He had walked into the kitchen and was looking pretty dumbfounded - probably still shocked.

"Streamer spray," Maddie managed to say and positioned herself behind Emmett for protection.

That was when their parents took in the kitchen.

It was covered from top to bottom in weird streamers and Maddie looked like a smurf with all the blue strings covering her. Emmett was full of red streamers, as if he was bleeding from every pore of his body.

"Could you tell me why the kitchen looks like ... _this_?" Esme asked while looking around.

Maddie and Emmett acted quickly. They looked at each other, then shouted, "SURPRISE!" in unison and waited.

But neither Esme nor Carlisle seemed to react to that exclamation.

"No?" Maddie asked carefully, shaking her head slightly. And her parents shook their heads as well.

Okay ... so they wouldn't believe them that the streamers were meant to be there as some kind of a breezy welcome.

"Okay," Maddie said and made a face.

"So?" Esme prompted.

"Uhm ...," Maddie answered brilliantly, not knowing what to say right then. So instead of coming up with a good explanation, she addressed Emmett. "You said they'd be back on Saturday!" she whispered fiercely to her older brother.

"They said they'd be gone for a _week_, that'd be _Saturday_!" he answered just as fiercely.

"Why didn't you double-check?" she hissed.

"You talked to them for every single day this week!" he retorted.

"_So?_"

Carlisle cleared his throat loudly.

Oh, so their whispering wasn't as quiet as they thought it'd be ... _Shit._

"Surprise?" Maddie tried again in a meek attempt to find a good enough excuse for all this, but her parents shook their heads like they did before, this time with folded arms.

"Well, it was worth a shot," she murmured and shrugged.

"Do that thing with your hands!" Emmett suggested in a whisper, and pushed her lightly in the direction where their parents stood.

Maddie just looked at him, with an 'Are-you-shitting-me'-look in her eyes. She wouldn't be stupid enough to do that again. No, thanks. The memory of last time she did that was still vivid in her mind. And they would anticipate it now, thanks to Emmett's _oh so low _whisper.

"Emmett Cullen! You better tell me you did not just incite your sister to use her ability on us!" Carlisle was getting mad, that much was clear.

"Uhm," he replied inanely.

But Carlisle was not yet done with his reprimand that was directed at Emmett. "This, my dear son, is something I don't want to _ever_ hear you suggest again!" Then he pinched the bridge of his nose; he tended to do that a lot when he was running out of patience.

When he had caught himself again, Carlisle prompted, "I want you two to tell me what happened in here." He stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest, tapping his foot on the floor, waiting for an answer.

_Double shit._

"Good gracious! What happened to my kitchen!" Esme exclaimed all of a sudden and stormed over to the cupboard - the one which was lacking a door. Carlisle followed his wife with his eyes, noticed the missing cupboard door and fixed his children with a stern glare that made them flinch.

_Triple shit if that is even possible._

"Fine, if you aren't willing to answer me: Go upstairs to your rooms. I will be there shortly."

Nooo. Maddie knew what that meant ... and she didn't like it one single bit.

Besides, her parents had merely seen the mess in the kitchen and were already pissed. What was going to happen when they'd find out that the rest of the house was equally decorated?

"Daddy -," she tried in a whiny tone, but was promptly kept from saying another word.

"Upstairs I said!"

If he says so. Emmett and Maddie quickly left the kitchen and hurried up the stairs.

They stopped in front of Emmett's and Rose's room, because Emmett said, "Your ass is toast, you ordered the spray cans."

"Prove it, it was paid for with your credit card." Maddie smiled cunningly, then added, "Oh, by the way, _your_ ass is toast, you are older than me."

"Madeline! Do you have trouble finding your room?" bellowed a voice from downstairs.

"Sorry!" she replied hastily, waved at Emmett and ran into her own room in less than two seconds.

* * *

><p>Her room made Maddie groan. The broken chair could not be overlooked. And Carlisle would be up soon, so what was she supposed to do? Leave it like that? Hide it? Throw it out of the window? She would have replaced the pieces with Edward's desk chair at this very second, but unfortunately Edward didn't have the same one, dammit.<p>

She walked up to take a closer look. Maybe she could put the parts together again.

But she dismissed the idea as quickly as it came and stuffed the remnants into her huge closet. Well, maybe her Dad wouldn't notice it missing.

So ... what could they possibly tell Carlisle in order to not get in trouble now? Okay, they were already in trouble ... but maybe they could manage to not get their asses beaten today.

In order to come up with a plan, Maddie fished her cell phone out of the drawer of her nightstand and saw that she had a new text.

_'Clean up, now!' _it read and was from Alice, sent two hours ago. Aw hell.

Ignoring the message - it was too late for that now anyways - she typed a message and sent it to Emmett, hoping he had his phone in his room.

_- What do we do now?_

_- I'll figure something out once he comes upstars. _The reply came mere seconds later.

Grr, Emmett.

_- What if he comes to my room first? Ever thought about that? _Maddie instantly pressed the Send-button.

_- Oh. read_ the next message coming from Emmett.

Yes, _OH, _Maddie thought and huffed.

Emmett's next message came a couple of minutes later_. 'Mad, the shit has hit the fan, and Pops is not an idiot. We're busted, live with it.'_

Gah! How could he give up like that? !

And then Maddie wondered if Emmett would even get spanked by Carlisle. Throughout the year she has spent with her family, she was the only one who constantly landed over her Dad's knee for a good hiding.

Even the last time they had played the game - the water bombs war - she was the one who got spanked, not Emmett. Well, it might have been because of her choice of words that day ... but whatever.

* * *

><p><em> Flashback...<em>

_Carlisle and Esme came home from the hospital. Esme had picked her husband up from work, because she needed his car for some shopping - the trunk of the Mercedes was bigger than the ones of the other cars. Well, Emmett's car was the biggest actually, but Esme preferred Carlisle's Mercedes._

_Emmett and Maddie were playing around outside, two hundred water bombs already used up. Some had landed against the exterior wall of their house, in Esme's flowerbeds and even inside the house. Yes, they weren't just chasing each other around the garden and the forest, that surrounded the house, but through the house, too. As soon as they heard their parents arriving, though, they took off at full speed, giggling. They knew their parents wouldn't be too happy about them leaving wet and muddy trails throughout their home, so they sought refuge in the forest for the time being. Not even Carlisle's calling made them come out of their hideout._

_After a couple of hours, when it was dark already, they decided to sneak back into the house. But they had a lot of trouble staying silent, since they were snorting with laughter. That game had just been too much fun! _

_Too bad Carlisle was sitting on a lawn chair on the porch, waiting for his two unruly children._

_"Ah ah ah, you two, over here," Carlisle said and beckoned Em and Maddie over when he saw them tiptoeing towards the other side of the house. They froze instantly, then looked at each other._

_"Emmett, Madeline, _now,_" Carlisle ordered._

_They trudged over to him with their heads bowed._

_"Sit down," he said and pointed at the wooden bench._

_They obeyed, then looked expectantly up at their father._

_ "Did you notice what the house looked like before you ran off?" Carlisle's voice was strict._

_ Neither of them replied, so he went on. __"Did you notice what your mother's flowerbeds looked like before you ran off?"_

_ Maddie chewed on her lip, while Emmett buried his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie._

_ "Did you hear me call for you two hours ago?"_

_ Maddie looked sideways at Emmett through a curtain of her dark hair. She was so close to cracking up again._

_ "You better start answering my questions, because I am not willing to wait all night." Carlisle sounded irritated._

_ "We just wanted to have some fun, Pops," Emmett tried._

_ "There is nothing wrong with that, but I told you to keep it outside because it was foreseeable to be getting out of hand. You ignored my instructions," their father rebuked. _

_ "Not true!" Maddie exclaimed defensively._

_ "It is true. The whole house looked like it's been buried by a mudflow."_

_ "Hell, why do you always assume we did it? That's not fair!" Maddie retorted, raising her voice._

_ "Madeline, watch your tone, I will not put up with insolence today. And judging by the condition your clothes are in and the fact that you ran away the moment Esme and I came home, it was indeed you two who got the house dirty."_

_ Well, Maddie and Emmett did look filthy. Mud-crusted shoes and jeans, blotched sweatshirts and damp hair .. how could Maddie ever think she would get out of that one?_

_ She huffed, leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest._

_ Carlisle gave his daughter a piercing look, then continued. "Do not get me wrong, I am glad you have so much fun together, but games or competitions to such an extent are prohibited from now on."_

_ "Please Carlisle, we promise to not play near the house again," Emmett tried to reason with him._

_ "You will not play these games _near_ the house, _in_ the house or _anywhere else_ again. And I hope for your sakes that you don't even consider touching a water balloon ever again for I will be more than just displeased if you do. Am I understood?"_

_ Emmett hung his head in defeat and said, "Yes, sir." _

_Maddie pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek, crossed her legs and looked away. She absolutely hated it if anyone used words like 'prohibited' or 'forbidden' or the like towards her. And due to her young age, she was still having difficulties keeping her temper in check._

_ "Madeline, do you understand what I just said?" Carlisle queried in a strict tone._

_ "Sure," she replied casually with a wave of her hand. Emmett gave his sister a look that meant: Stop it!_

_ "We'll clean up now, if that is all right with you," Emmett told his father quickly, partly because he felt it was their duty to clean up, partly because he wanted to detract attention from his sister's attitude. She definitely wasn't doing herself a favour mouthing off at Carlisle, and Em didn't want Maddie to get punished._

_ "No need. You mother couldn't stand the dirt and has already wiped the floor," their father clarified._

_"Oh." Emmett felt bad. Esme shouldn't have to clean the mess they had caused._

_"There is one more thing, Emmett: Why is Madeline's bed dripping wet and the mattress ruined?" Carlisle knew why, of course, but he wanted to ask anyways._

_ Emmett wanted to apologise but his sister was faster than him, shouting, "What the fuck? Why have you been to my room?"_

_ Their father wasn't very fond of outbursts, especially not the ones filigreed with cusses. "Emmett, please go inside and ask your mother if you can be of any help."_

_ "Yes, sir."_

_ Carlisle followed Emmett with his eyes. When he saw that he was indeed inside the house, he turned towards his youngest daughter._

_"Madeline, I told you before that I will not put up with these antics today. Cease your disrespectful behaviour and the colourful language or you'll find yourself with a sore backside. What will it be?"_

_ She looked up at him, hesitated and eventually said, "I'm sorry."_

_ "Good. How about we go inside now? You can apologise to your mother and then take a shower, all right?" he said, sounding calm again. _

_Maddie nodded, then muttered under her breath, "Like I give a fuck..."_

_ That wasn't too smart. Carlisle grabbed his daughter by her wrist, pulled her out of her seat and tucked her under his arm. The moment Maddie realised in what position she was in, the first swat came already crashing down onto her behind._

_ "I'm sorry, Daddy, stop!" was all she managed to say while smack after smack rained down in quick succession. But as quickly as it had started, it stopped. Carlisle had dished out a total of six spanks, but he made sure they were memorable enough to cure his daughter of her disrespect._

_ He helped her up again, then put his hands on her shoulders. "Madeline, you have been warned to not use this kind of language. Can I trust you to speak civilly now?"_

_ Maddie nodded her head, then reached one hand back and tried to rub the sting away. She looked pitiful with her stained clothes and teary eyes and Carlisle couldn't help but feel bad about having just spanked her. But he did warn her and she was lucky to receive her punishment over her jeans and not bare._

_ He gave his little one a kiss on her forehead, then hugged her close. "Let's go inside, sweetie. Come now," he said lovingly. _

_Maddie reached out and Carlisle took her by the hand, then they stepped inside into the now unsoiled house._

_ No need to say that Maddie, as well as Emmett, had to apologise to Esme and help her with the garden until it looked _exactly_ like it had before._

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><p>The time passed and Maddie was nervous. Her parents had already detected more of Emmett's and her 'work' - that was apparent from the raised voices that sounded up from the living room. They would probably make a tour of the house to see what the rest of their home looked like, before spending time on contemplating how to deal with her and Emmett.<p>

That sucked; shouldn't they be all relaxed and easy-going after their vacation?

And then Maddie heard footsteps ascending the stairs. She gulped.

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><p><strong>Hahaha ;-) Liked it? <strong>

**Who do you think should be first, Maddie or Emmett? **

**Is cleaning up enough punishment or should Carlisle be stricter with them?**

** Should Maddie get spanked? Or Emmett? Or both?**

** I am reeeaaally curious about what you think should happen! So REVIEW and tell me!**


	16. Chapter 16

** Hello there!**

**Next chapter, just for you!**

** Haven't started on the next one yet :-/ But I still hope I can post it very soon!**

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><p>The footsteps came to a halt on the top floor.<p>

Yes, on each floor was a broken picture frame, still lying in pieces on the ground .. along colourful streamers.

Maddie heard an angry snort from the other side of the door, then quick footsteps that obviously headed for the stairs again.

_Phew! _She was relieved that it wasn't yet time to face her parents and the punishment that was sure to come.

Her Dad probably wasn't very impressed with her and Emmett's behaviour. And she shouldn't have ordered _that_ many cans of spray, that way the house wouldn't look like a clown had puked all over the place.

That was when Maddie remembered that she didn't look much different. She quickly opened the door to her closet on which a big mirror hung, and looked at her reflection.

She roughly pulled the spray streamer off her clothes and hair, when a knock at the door made her stop.

"Come in!" she called without thinking and promptly continued to free herself from the blue strings.

Carlisle entered the room and closed the door behind himself. He then walked over to his daughter, but hesitated for a moment to take in her room, asking, "Where is your desk chair?"

Maddie stiffened, then tried to inconspiciously shut the door to her closet, but Carlisle noticed her odd behaviour and stopped her from doing just that. He looked into Maddie's closet, narrowed his eyes and remarked dryly, "Broken, I see. Were you planning on keeping the remnants as a souvenir or can we get rid of the broken pieces?"

She gave him an apologetic smile for trying to hide the chair, then pressed the loose steamers into a ball and threw them into the waste basket under the desk.

"Have you been to Emmett yet?" Maddie asked when she turned around again.

"Yes. I decided to talk to both of you before I make a decision," her father replied and patted the seat next to him on the bed.

She walked over to her bed and sat down. "A decision?" That didn't sound good.

"In view of the fact that you and your brother have been disobeying me, I am obliged to mete out punishment to both of you," he explained. Then he cleared his throat and asked strictly, "Now, could you tell me who suggested to play the game?"

Well, Maddie could, but she certainly did not want to.

"I don't tattle," she answered honestly. She wouldn't tell on Emmett, and she certainly wouldn't tell on herself - heck, she wasn't crazy.

"So you are not willing to tell me who got the idea to defy me?" That did not surprise him in the least - Emmett had refused to tell him as well.

Maddie slowly shook her head no.

"I see. But keep in mind that I will get to see the credit card billing, which might be very illuminating., Carlisle said and gave his daughter a meaningful look.

'Ha, good luck with that,' Maddie thought. She was the one who usually used his card because she didn't have one of her own, unlike her siblings. But this time? Nope, she was smarter than that.

She shrugged her shoulders as a response.

Since Maddie wouldn't tell him who was to blame for the game, he continued. "You know I forbade you from playing games of this extent, didn't you?"

"This was different," she blurted out in an attempt to get out of that one.

Carlisle was taken aback by that answer. "How so?" he asked skeptically.

"First of all, you should keep in mind that I did not break my grounding, I was good," Maddie explained. "And we didn't destroy anything ... except for a couple of things ... which we didn't do on purpose ... they got accidentally broken," she added doubtfully - should have thought the sentence through before she started talking. She confused herself sometimes.

"Madeline, you defied me," her father clarified for her.

"Is it really that bad?" That was a very dumb question, but she went on. "I mean, you said you want us to have fun, and we didn't mean to break anything, it just happened! And we'll clean up!"

Carlisle huffed at what his daughter had just said. _What a nerve!_ "Yes, it is really _that bad_, it is willful disobedience. And you and Emmett broke a vase, the cupboard and two picture frames; the whole house is upside down. Who do you think you insulted most by this?"

_Oh no ..._ "Mom," Maddie whispered.

"How do you think she must feel now? Everything you broke were things she had carefully picked out to adorn our home."

Great. Way to go, Maddie ... Esme had been away for a week and missed her family ... and what was she greeted with? Her things - destroyed.

He continued. "I am very disappointed in you. You mother does not deserve to be treated like that."

Maddie hung her head and felt wretched. She had not realised that she was actually hurting somebody's feelings with her carelessness, her Mom's to be precise.

Carlisle was glad that Maddie thought about her actions and was finally receptive. "Why did I _explicitly_ forbid you from playing in the house?"

"... because it could get out of hand and we might break something." Maddie's voice was strained.

"And why did I forbid you from playing your games for good?"

"... because we broke something in the house."

"Exactly. You broke something in the house, where I forbade you from playing. The consequence was that you couldn't play these games anymore."

Maddie looked down at the ground, averting her eyes.

"Emmett told me you played today because you thought we wouldn't come home until tomorrow, is that true?"

Maddie sighed. "It is." _Argh! Emmett, you blabbermouth!_

"So you did plan on defying me and then lying to me."

Maddie's head shot up, eyes wide. "No! We wouldn't have lied! Dad, you are making stuff up!" That wasn't going to end well ... Maddie more or less accepted to be punished for upsetting her Mom and defying her father. But for lying as well now? She didn't lied! What was happening here?

"Imagine your mother and I would have come home tomorrow instead of today. Would you have been honest about playing your game if you hadn't broken anything or would you have kept it a secret?" Carlisle queried.

The look Maddie gave him was answer enough. It confirmed exactly what he was suspecting: Of course she wouldn't have told them.

Then he spoke again, an accusing finger pointed at his youngest. "But: you did break something. How would you have explained this?"

"I don't know." _How would she know? ! If everything had been going according to plan, she and Emmett would have had enough time to come up with an explanation._

His never-ending questions were starting to irritate Maddie, but he kept on going. "Would you have told us about the game?"

"Sure," Maddie said. _Ha! No, she wouldn't have._

Carlisle was not convinced - he knew his daughter too well when it came to that.

"To be honest with you: I think you would have told your mother and I a far-fetched story about how these things got broken, leaving out the fact that you did something I specifically forbade you from doing."

When Maddie didn't like something, her temper took over - She suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Fine, whatever! We got caught, why are you making such a big deal out of it, huh?"

"Madeline, sit. back. down. and watch your attitude."

They stared at each other.

After a couple of seconds Maddie huffed, but did as she was told since she did not need any more trouble right now.

Carlisle waited a minute until he asked, "Are you calm again?"

"Yes," was all she said.

He nodded his head. "Now, I think we should address your punishment. You will receive a spanking for your disobedience and you still have three floors to clean up. Stand up and pull down your trousers."

Maddie's eyes bulged. "I'm first?"

"Yes, you are," Carlisle confirmed unsmiling and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt - a scary gesture.

"Why?" It came out as an almost whine.

Carlisle had a good reason why. He thought it would make his daughter too nervous if she had to wait any longer. Besides, if he would decide to discipline Emmett and she heard, she might try to make a run for it.

"That is irrelevant. Please do as I say."

Maddie hesitated. But having hurt Esme's feelings really made her regret coming up with the idea of playing the game; she felt guilty and therefore complied.

She stood up and pulled down her loose fitting sweat pants to the undercurve of her bottom; Carlisle lent a hand to pull them down to her knees. Then Maddie lowered herself onto her father's lap and waited for the first blow.

The first one was always the worst ... well, apart from the last ones that were always aimed at her sit-spots. Okay, all of them were bad, it was a spanking after all.

She drew in a sharp breath when she felt her father's hand crack down onto her upturned bottom for the first time. Gritting her teeth when the next ones followed, she tried to make as little sound as possible. Normally she didn't care much if her siblings overheard her being disciplined, because it rarely happened while they were home anyways. Besides, Alice and Edward probably had to witness every spanking she ever got due to their abilities. But this time Emmett was waiting in his room and heard every single resounding 'SMACK'.

Carlisle did not hold back, that much was apparent. Willful disobedience was something he would not tolerate. So he kept on peppering up his daughter's little behind with heavy spanks until he raised his right knee to gain better access to her sit-spots. Maddie shrieked; she knew what would happen now. Half a dozen swats rained down onto her sensitive sit-spots in quick succession - they would prevent her from sitting comfortably for a while, a perfect reminder to behave.

When it was over, Carlisle let Maddie cry for a bit over his knees while rubbing her back and soothing her with comforting words. It really calmed her, so he pulled up her pants again and sat the girl on his lap, letting her butt hang off his legs so she wouldn't be hurting too much.

"Mom is downstairs, isn't she?" Maddie asked and sniffled.

"No, dear, but she'll be back soon. Esme decided to go on a quick hunt," Carlisle answered and tucked a loose strand of Maddie's hair behind her ear, then put his arms around her again.

"Oh," she said in a sad tone.

"Why don't you rest for a while? You may go downstairs as soon as your mother returns. Sounds good?"

Maddie nodded her head, still leaning against Carlisle's chest.

"Good. I will leave you now, Emmett has been waiting for a while now. Are you all right on your own or do you need me to stay a little longer?"

"I'm okay. You can go to Emmett now."

Carlisle nodded and hugged her close.

"You are not mad at me anymore, right, Daddy?" Maddie asked quietly and looked up into her father's eyes. She sniffled again.

He gave her a reassuring smile. "No, all is forgiven, Maddie. And you can ask your mother for forgiveness once she returns. In case she decides to punish you as well however, I want you to accept it without complaining. Will you do that?"

"Yes," she nodded and stood up, only to turn around again to climb onto her bed.

"Good. Lie down now, princess." He patted her on the head and gave her a kiss on her temple, then he handed her a pillow to rest her head on. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she answered and closed her eyes.

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><p><strong>Dundundun ... what's going to happen to Emmett? Would you like to know? <strong>

**Then stay tuned!**

**And REVIEW, of course!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Woah, I just surprised myself ... this chapter was so easy to write! Hopefully it's easy to read as well ... sometimes I just don't know about my syntax. Oh well, skill comes with practice, right? Hahaha, so I have to torture you some more with even more chapters!**

** Good, now read.**

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><p>Emmett was tense. He had started to tap his foot on the floor out of sheer nervousness after Maddie's spanking had ended. He had heard everything, of course. Rock-hard hand crashing down on rock-hard butt makes really loud noises! Can't fail to hear that.<p>

And now it was only a matter of minutes until his father would enter this room, determined to inform him of his punishment.

After talking to Carlisle earlier, Emmett agreed that Maddie should be first. He didn't want his baby sister to wait in anticipation. And he hoped she would leave the house for a hunt to regain her strength and to heal faster.

But Carlisle was the only one who came down the stairs according to the footsteps Emmett heard.

So his sister was resting after getting a sound hiding. Emmett had flinched at every single smacking sound, all the while feeling pity for the little one when she cried out.

He was older than her - he shouldn't have agreed to play. Now his sister had gotten her bottom smacked and he would get away with a mere grounding; he felt guilty.

Carlisle stopped in front of Emmett's room and knocked once. "Emmett, follow me to my office, please."

Emmett was glad that the waiting was over and he could finally leave his room, but going to his father's office was not exactly what he had expected.

That room meant business.

He opened the door carefully, stepped outside and joined his father on his way to the office on the same floor.

They entered in silence. Carlisle seated himself behind his desk, then motioned for Emmett to take a seat on the wooden chair standing in front of it.

"We talked already, so I trust you know what your offences are."

"Yes, sir," Emmett replied.

"Tell me."

"Maddie and I defied your instructions."

Carlisle nodded his head, indicating he should continue.

"We carelessly broke items in this house."

"Go on."

Emmett looked utterly confused. _That was all, wasn't it?_

"What else did you do, Emmett?" Carlisle queried, stricter now.

"I don't remember anything else."

Carlisle raised one eyebrow. "You told your sister to manipulate Esme and me."

Oh.

He got scolded by Carlisle in the living room and assumed the issue was over with just then. Well, that obviously had been the wrong assumption.

Emmett sank down in his chair; he just wanted to shrivel up when Carlisle spoke again - his voice showed that he was clearly upset.

"I am glad that she did not try to follow through with your request, but that does not change the fact that you spurred her on. You must not suggest that she use her ability on any member of the family, _ever_. It is disrespectful and dishonest, dangerous even. I want you to be more careful with what you say in the future, you know she listens to you."

"I wasn't thinking, Carlisle. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that to her."

"Indeed. Think twice before you speak, Emmett, I told you countless times already."

"I'm sorry, Sir." Emmett couldn't look his father in the eye right then, he felt too ashamed.

"Good, then let us proceed." Carlisle stood up from his chair and walked around the desk to stop right next to his son. "Stand up and unfasten your trousers, son. Then I want you to lean over the desk."

Emmett gulped. It had been a while since the last time he ended up in this position, almost three years to be precise.

He slowly stood up, unbuttoned his jeans with trembling fingers and pulled them down to his knees. Then he leaned over the big desk and gripped the opposite edge of it. Letting out shaky breaths, he braced himself for the horrible spanking that was about to come.

Emmett heard that Carlisle moved the chair that he had been occupying mere seconds ago to the side and then positioned himself closer to him, putting a hand on his lower back to calm him as well as hold him in place.

Then Carlisle raised his hand high in the air, only to let it crack down forcefully onto his son's backside a second later.

"Ah!" Emmett knew it was a spanking and that it would hurt, but he wasn't prepared for _this _much pain. The first smack was a real eye-opener.

Too bad his father was a vampire and did not tire, otherwise Emmett might have had a chance of getting off lightly.

He had successfully banned the memories of the pain and embarrassment a spanking brought from his head, but it all came rushing back now. How could he be so stupid and risk getting a thrashing again? At that moment he swore to himself, like he did every time he got walloped, that he would never let it get that far again, while Carlisle kept up a steady rhythm in covering his upturned behind with sharp blows.

Then Carlisle started to lecture.

"When I forbid you from doing something, you will listen to me!" His words were accompanied by a whole series of smacks.

"The last time you disobeyed me I thought a stern rebuke would be enough, but you just proved me wrong!" More smacks.

"Think. before. you. act!" and with that said, Carlisle finished up the spanking.

When he stopped, Emmett was openly crying. He had tried to stay stoic throughout the whole ordeal, hadn't even begged, but with Carlisle's hand made out of iron it was next to impossible to not give in and cry.

"Shhh, it is over, Emmett. You're forgiven." Calisle gently rubbed his son's shoulders in a comforting manner.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," Emmett managed to say in between sobs and carefully pulled his jeans back up.

"All is forgiven, son," Carlisle assured him and hugged his son close. "Calm yourself, it's over."

A couple of minutes later and Emmett was back to his goofy self - but with a smarting backside.

"Woah, Pops, that'll hurt for weeks! Remind me to not get on your bad side again," he said, all the while trying to rub the sting away.

"I hope I left a lasting impression, so a repeat will not be necessary."

Emmett nodded his head furiously. He didn't want a repeat either. "Uhm, Dad ... would it be okay with you if I lie down for a moment?"

"Well, of course! Come," Carlisle walked his son to his room, hugged him tightly and released him again.

"I'll inform you when it's time for you and your sister to clean up."

Emmett gave him a sheepish smile, then walked into his room to rest.

* * *

><p>"Mom?" Maddie asked nervously when she peeked into the living room, looking for Esme.<p>

"I'm here! Come sit with me, Maddie," her mother replied from her seat on the couch.

So Maddie scurried over to her, but remained standing when she reached the couch.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Esme looked at her daughter and frowned.

"I'm really sorry, Mommy, we didn't mean to break your things," Maddie apologised with her head bowed.

"Oh, darling, come here," Esme pulled her daughter onto her lap and hugged her close with both arms.

"I really appreciate you apologising to me."

Maddie nodded and then leaned her head against her Mom's shoulder, breathing in her calming scent.

Then she started talking again. "You know, we hadn't even realised that we broke something. Now I am sad that it happened, because we didn't want to hurt your feelings, but we did," she said and played with the hem of her shirt. Apologising always made her nervous, because she never knew if she did it right.

"I was disappointed in you, yes," Esme confirmed - she wouldn't lie to her daughter and tell her it didn't matter - that way she wouldn't learn.

"Don't be mad at me anymore, Mommy, please don't," Maddie begged with wide eyes that held a visible layer of venom in them.

"It is forgiven now, don't worry about it."

"But I still feel bad," she mumbled and looked into her mother's eyes.

"Hm." Esme thought about that, then lifted her hand and gave her youngest a firm tap on the bum. "Better?" she asked with a smirk.

Maddie was startled by the smack, especially because her butt was still a bit sore. But then she smiled and buried her face in the crook of her Mom's neck. Esme hugged Maddie closer and placed a loving kiss on top of her head, savouring the moment.

"Sweetie, how about you help me pick out new picture frames? Would you like that?" Esme suddenly offered; she knew it would help her daughter feel better.

Maddie beamed up at her Mom. She was glad to have her back and that she could make up for the broken things by helping to get new ones. Maddie visibly relaxed at that moment.

"Look, Alice curled my hair." Maddie held up a strand of her hair. She held it next to one of her mother's locks. "It looks like yours now, just darker."

Esme couldn't help but smile when she noticed her daughter changing from being devastated to being carefree in mere seconds.

She leaned back further on the couch to get a more comfortable sitting position with Maddie on her lap, when she suddenly felt something bulky press against her lower back.

"What is .. that?" Esme wondered and reached behind the pillow she was leaning against; Maddie turned her head and saw a streamer spray can in her mother's hand.

"Uh, that's mine!" her eyes lit up and she wanted to take it from Esme, who just held the can further away, out of Maddie's reach.

"Madeline!" A stern voice called from the staircase, "Didn't you learn _any_thing today?"

Carlisle strode up to his wife and daughter, then accepted the can Esme handed him. So his dear little daughter felt bad for breaking something of her mother's, accepted punishment for defying her father, but would obviously play the game, which got her in trouble in the first place, again without batting an eyelash.

"Sorry. You can keep it if you want," Maddie offered with a sheepish look on her face.

"Mad, you're maddish." Emmett laughed and walked over to them.

"Emmy!" Maddie squealed and jumped up, then asked carefully, "Are you all right?"

Maddie had left her room as soon as Emmett's spanking was over. Woah, it had been so much worse than her own! She had pressed a pillow over her ears, but unfortunately it had done nothing to block out the loud slapping sounds coming from her Dad's office.

"Sure, how about you?" He smirked and tried to make light of the fact that his baby sister had overheard him getting his rear end roasted.

"I'm good!" she replied with a smile.

"All right, you two, I want you to clean up now. At a human pace, if you would," Carlisle requested and seated himself next to his wife, putting an arm around her delicate shoulders.

Emmett and Maddie groaned, but complied. Picking up streamers wasn't too bad since streamers didn't leave stains or anything.

Their parents chided them from time to time for playing around instead of cleaning, but they managed to clear the house of all traces. It was back to its normal state when they were done.

* * *

><p>It was already late evening when Rose, Edward, Alice and Jasper came home. They had followed through with the hunting trip, just without their siblings and changing the destination; Alice had obviously warned them about what was taking place at home, so they left directly after school without coming home first.<p>

Maddie and Emmett had secluded themselves in Maddie's room a while ago, busy with fooling around and laughing.

Suddenly Rosalie marched in, hands on her hips and tongue poking against the inside of her cheek. "You two are so _incredibly_ stupid," she said.

Emmett and Maddie high fived and laughed; they had thought about making a bet about what Rose would say to them, but both were of the same opinion: Rose would tell them that they're stupid.

Rosalie huffed.

"How was school, babe?" Emmett asked his wife with a goofy grin and earned himself a blow on the head.

"Ha, you owe me twenty bucks, Em!" Yes, Maddie had bet that he would get hit by his wife.

He grumbled but handed her the money, then rubbed the spot where the blow had landed.

"That's enough. Emmett, come with me, we need to talk," Rosalie stalked out of the room, followed by Emmett.

Maddie waved them goodbye and propped herself up on her bed to read a book, finally having some time to herself.

However, twenty short minutes later she got disrupted by a very loud, very angry shout from her father. "MADELINE! Come down here _THIS INSTANT_!"

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><p><strong> Oh dear ... why is Maddie in trouble? <strong>

**Well, I know why :-P**

** Maybe you do too ...**

**Anyways, REVIEW!**

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	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys!**

** Wow! Thank you so much for your numerous reviews! Reviews spur me on to write write write! And they make me smile :)**

**I am currently house-sitting and dog-sitting and cat-sitting and .. well I am 'sitting' everything there is. So I have some time on my hands and BOOM! I have started on several new chapters. So chapters 20-25 are nearly finished. The one after this one here however ... not so much, haha.**

**And I have started to write down Maddie's first day at her private school and how she managed to get herself kicked out of Junior High. But I have no idea when I will post it and how. I could do it as a new story, or put it in this story in flashbacks (even though I don't know how, it'll be more than 6 chapters) ... we'll see. I'll let you know in time ... if you are interested, that is ;-) Are you?**

** Okay, don't wanna keep you any longer. Enjoy the chapter! **

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><p>Maddie whimpered.<p>

Her father sounded angry ... and she had already been smacked that day! What else? What did he find out now?

Ugh, why her? She was constantly in trouble, why couldn't they just let her be?

She reluctantly stood up from her bed, threw her book across the room and walked out the door, bracing herself for the tongue-lashing that was about to take place.

On the second floor however, she was stopped by Rose who looked tense and discontent.

"Go back upstairs, Maddie," she ordered and turned her sister back around.

Maddie was taken aback and wondered if Rose wanted to get her killed. "But I am supposed to come to the living room!" she complained and walked towards the stairs that would lead her to the living room.

Rose stopped her again. "Do as I say."

"Are you kidding me? Seriously Rose, I-" "- I'll handle it, just _go_."

Maddie felt uneasy, not knowing what to do, but then decided to obey her sister. Rose would be in trouble after all.

But what was that about? Maddie had no clue.

Rose rushed down the stairs and into the living room where Esme, Jasper and Carlisle were waiting. Esme was sitting on the couch, opposite from Jasper, who was currently occupying the big armchair. Carlisle just stood there with his eyes closed, one hand on his hip, the other one pinching the bridge of his nose.

The moment Rose entered the room however, Carlisle looked up, expecting to see Maddie. His eyes darkened visibly when he realised that his youngest had not bothered to follow his instructions.

"Where is Madeline?" he was running out of patience.

"I told her to go back to her room," Rose replied.

"I want her down here so we can talk to her. Why would you send her upstairs again, Rosalie?"

Rose sighed. "You shouldn't be angry with Maddie, she wouldn't understand right now."

"She deliberately stole from someone, how can she not understand what is wrong with that?" Jasper requested.

"For an empath you are pretty oblivious to her emotions," she retorted, shooting him a glare.

Carlisle was not following. "Rose, kindly explain to us what you are talking about."

"She doesn't understand that what she did was wrong, you cannot punish her for that."

"I beg your pardon?" Carlisle asked, slightly confused.

"She needs to be held accountable for what she did to her classmate!" Jasper again.

"You better be quiet!" Rose admonished.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Your bickering will stop, right now!" Carlisle ordered in a strict tone, not willing to listen to these two insulting each other.

Esme spoke up then, looking at her son. "Jasper, you have already told us what happened during our absence. Now give Rose a chance to explain, please."

Rosalie thanked her mother, then said, "Maddie took something that didn't belong to her, yes, but her motivation was not what Jasper just told you."

Jasper raised his voice. "She stole! How can you be okay with stealing?"

"I'm not okay with stealing!" Rose snapped at her brother.

Carlisle just boiled over. "Silence! Jasper, not another word until Rosalie has finished explaining!"

"Thank you," she said to her father, then continued. "To Maddie it wasn't stealing, it was getting even."

All three of them looked at Rose as if she had just grown a second head.

"Told you," she commented, then sat on the couch, crossed her legs and felt smug. She knew they wouldn't have figured out her sister's true motivation.

"Why would she want to get even? What happened?" Esme was all churned up inside. Did someone hurt her baby?

"There is a girl in Maddie's class that tries to get a rise out of her, but Maddie doesn't react to her provocations. So said girl ruined Maddie's homework a while ago to get her attention. That is why Maddie decided to take her homework; it was convenient and she got even."

"It is still stealing and misusing her ability," Jasper threw in.

"Can't you see? It never crossed her mind that she was stealing at that time!" Rose countered exasperatedly.

"Ignorance is no excuse in law." Jasper would not give up, obviously. He wanted his sister to be held accountable for her actions; she had carried things too far at school and would not change for the better without proper chastisement.

"Why are you still sitting here? You told on her, your job is done here," Rosalie spat at Jasper.

"Rose, that was uncalled for."

She huffed at the rebuke coming from her father, put her elbow on the armrest of the couch and cupped her chin in her hand.

"Did you talk to her?" Esme asked, addressing her eldest daughter.

"Of course, that's how I found out what happened. At first I, too, thought she had stolen."

"Did you explain to her why taking revenge is wrong, Rosalie?"

Rosalie shook her head. "No, I didn't. I had to collect myself first and think about how to approach the matter. But I don't know if I am the right person to do it."

Esme sighed, hurting for Rose that she was confronted with her past once more. "Rosalie, she doesn't know what happened all those years ago, dear."

Rose looked down at her hands and quietly said, "Yes, but I do."

"I understand," she replied and reached out to place a hand on Rosalie's folded ones. "Then I would like to talk to her if you'd agree."

They nodded, consenting to it.

So Esme walked up the stairs to see her youngest.

* * *

><p>She knocked on the door and waited.<p>

"Come in," Maddie said, her voice tense. She sat on the floor with her back leaning against the side of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Oh honey, come, don't sit on the floor." Esme closed the door behind herself and walked over to the bed.

Maddie actually liked sitting on the floor, she was quite comfortable there; but she reached a hand out towards her Mom then, who took it and pulled her daughter up into a standing position. They seated themselves on the nice, big bed and looked at each other.

"See? That's better, isn't it?" Esme smiled and rubbed Maddie's shoulder in order to ease the tension.

"What's going on down there?" Maddie asked, ignoring her Mom's question.

"When your siblings came back home from their hunting trip today, we conversed," Esme started to explain.

_So?_ Maddie waited for her to go on.

Then Esme spoke again. "Do you remember what happened at the beginning of this week?"

Maddie nodded, looking at her mother cautiously. Of course she remembered, vampires do not forget easily.

And then it dawned on Maddie what this was all about.

"We were informed that you ... used your ability at school," her mother added.

"It was nothing worth mentioning, really! I didn't hurt anyone, I just ..."

"... got even," Esme finished for her.

Maddie looked up at her mother, eyes wide.

"That is what you did, am I right?" Esme asked knowingly.

"Yeah."

"I understand," Esme said and folded her hands in her lap.

Maddie squirmed a bit, then asked, "I am in trouble, right? Could you tell Dad to just come upstairs and wallop me now? I really don't wanna sit here and wait."

"Why do you think your father would discipline you?" Esme asked.

"Jasper told you everything that happened on Monday, didn't he? Then he told you that I stole, and I don't think Daddy likes stealing," Maddie replied uneasily.

"You are right, he does not like stealing, because it is wrong. But I would like to hear from you if you stole."

_If?_ "What do you mean?"

Esme fixed her eyes on her daughter. "Tell me what you did at school."

"Jasper told you, I stole," Maddie answered, confusion thick in her voice.

"Sweetie please, just answer my question. When you were at school, did you plan to steal something from your classmate? Were you aware that what you did was stealing?"

Maddie became nervous - was this a trick question?

Esme waited patiently for her daughter to answer.

"No," Maddie said after a moment of hesitating.

"Go on," Esme encouraged.

"I ... She started it." Lame explanation, Maddie.

"Do you understand that what you did was avenge yourself?"

"Yes." Why the question? It is exactly what Rose asked, and Maddie didn't understand why they would ask her something like that.

Then Esme sighed. "Taking revenge is never the right thing to do, honey."

Maddie looked confused. "Huh?"

Esme figured that maybe an example would help her daughter understand. "Imagine somebody pushes you. Would you push back?"

Maddie nodded. You could bet your ass that she would push back.

"Then you would feel even, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"But it might have been a misunderstanding, because the person tripped and accidentally bumped into you. You would be in the wrong now for pushing. If the person pushes back now, the situation escalates, don't you think?" Esme explained.

Hm. "I guess."

"See? You have to give others the chance to explain themselves first; don't just assume they are being hostile to you."

Maddie groaned and let herself fall back onto the bed from her sitting position. She held her hand over her eyes and said, "But Mom, that is _so_ different."

"How?"

Maddie took her hand away and looked at her mother. "First of all: It wasn't a misunderstanding, she ruined my essay on purpose. And I got even with her, but she doesn't know it was me!"

Esme wanted to say something, but Maddie went on, propping herself up on her elbows. "So she has no reason whatsoever to get back at me now. See? Problem solved."

Esme could see where that would make sense to Maddie.

"And why did she feel the need to ruin your homework in the first place?" Esme probed; there could be a reason behind that, after all.

"I am not the mind reader in this family, how would I know?" Maddie was annoyed but tried not to show it. Her Mom could still save her ass from her father, so better not be insolent.

Esme tried to explain. "Maybe she felt offended by something you did, even though you did not mean any harm."

"I didn't do anything, Mom," Maddie replied with finality.

"Sweetie, even though this particular situation might not have been a misunderstanding, you avenging yourself was still not the right thing to do. What I mean to tell you is, that when you take revenge for something you place yourself on the same level as the other person who wronged your first."

"So?" That didn't sound too bad.

"Aren't you better than people who have to bully others in order to make themselves feel better?"

Now Esme had a point, and she saw that she finally got through to her daughter.

"Oh." Maddie was quiet for a moment. "But I _don't_ bully other people." She didn't want anyone to think that she was no different than people who bullied.

"I know you don't, dear. That is why I don't understand why you would put yourself on the same level as people who do."

Maddie frowned. "But what am I supposed to do if somebody wrongs me?"

"You could talk to the person, tell a teacher or tell us."

"Isn't that the same as taking revenge? I tell someone so the person gets punished."

"No, sweetie. Your teachers are persons of authority. It is their duty to educate and guide their students. If somebody does you injustice, tell them and they'll help you."

"I don't tattle."

"It is not tattling."

"Is too!" Maddie complained.

"No. The school is to provide the students with a safe and healthy environment. Your teachers are responsible for your well-being while you are there, that is why they wish to be informed of bullying and harassment, so _they_ can take care of it, not you."

Maddie listened to her mother's explanation, nodded her head and watched her attentively.

Esme sighed and asked, "Do you understand that?"

"I do."

Maddie never saw the other girl's behaviour as bullying towards her, because she didn't care enough about that stupid human girl to listen to her. But if her parents thought she got bullied, maybe she wouldn't be in trouble now; she really liked that thought.

"I think we should head downstairs now to talk to your father. He, too, has some things to say to you; I only addressed your comprehension of retribution."

_Nooo._

Maddie started to chew on her bottom lip. "So he's mad at me, right?"

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><p><strong> Phew, originally it was Rose's job to talk to Maddie, but I wasn't sure how to do it. And Esme is the mother, so *shrug* But it was still harder to write than the other chapters were.<strong>

**Anyways ... what is going to happen? Do you think Maddie should be in trouble or is a lecture enough?**

**REVIEW and tell me! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello hello!**

** Okay guys, I must confess that I am stupid. I forgot about something, but thanks to you, my dear reviewers, I was able to take care of it in this chapter.**

** Maybe I should reread my own stories sometime ...**

** Now ... curious about the new chapter? Then go ahead and read!**

**(And !Thank you! to everyone who reviewed my story, keeps me going!) **

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><p>"There you are! Sit down, please," Carlisle said and motioned for his wife and daughter to take a seat.<p>

Esme guided Maddie over to the couch, and sat down next to her.

"I trust your mother spoke to you about the matter of revenge, am I right?" he addressed his daughter.

"Yes."

"Do you understand now why the way you handled the situation was unfavourable?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, please."

"I shouldn't have tried to get even with that girl," Maddie muttered.

"Go on."

"That way I put myself on the same level as a bully."

"What could you have done differently?" her father questioned further.

"I could have told you or a teacher what she did to me, instead of taking care of the situation myself."

"Very good," he praised, then sat down and continued talking. "But, my dear, we are very unhappy about the fact that you not only took the girl's homework away, but you pretended it was yours."

Maddie looked down ... of course he would find more faults.

"Do you understand now why Jasper told you you were stealing?"

"Yes." She nodded her head - of course she understood that now, it did _seem_ like stealing. "But I didn't hand it in, I didn't read it out loud, I merely put it on my desk - I didn't _use_ it."

"Madeline, that is no excuse. It doesn't matter what you _didn't_ do with it. You took it away, placed it on the desk in front of you and fooled your teacher that way."

Maddie leaned back on the couch and folded her arms over her chest. "It's not fair," she stated petulantly.

Carlisle sighed. _Oh no, not this again_, he thought. "Explain what's not fair now."

"It's not fair that I get scolded for something that's old news already." It's Friday, for heaven's sake! It was over, she got even, why still talk about it?

"It still matters to us. First, you used your gift where it was not necessary. Someone might have watched you and become suspicious; you cannot risk being seen using your ability. And second, like I just told you: We don't want you to take somebody else's homework when you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself."

"I was being very careful," Maddie answered, referring to the use of her gift. And, _oh boy_, had she been careful.

Maddie found out that she could, and now comes the kicker, use her talent without necessarily touching the person! The bonding formed by looking somebody straight in the eye worked just as well on its own. It merely took a moment longer to build up and she had to concentrate harder, but it worked. At least on humans, since she had only tested it once - on the stupid girl from her class.

But Maddie decided that she wouldn't share that newly discovered information with her parents. Tee-hee.

Carlisle nodded his head, then said, "I believe you, but it is still too risky."

Maddie sighed, and was quiet for a moment. Then... "Daddy?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Why is it okay for Edward to use his ability to be in my head all the time and tattle on me, but I cannot use mine even though I was being careful?" Maddie's voice grew louder with every word, until she was close to yelling at the end.

"Calm yourself. And I agree with you: It is not decent of Edward, and I will talk to him about this."

"Really?" Hopeful eyes looked up at Carlisle and he smiled.

"Of course I will. It seems that he doesn't grant you the privacy you deserve, which I would call misusing his gift."

"... _really?_" she asked again, not quite trusting her ears.

Carlisle chuckled, then continued. "But keep in mind that it is harder for him. His ability is always active, he has to purposely passivate it, which needs a lot of willpower and concentration."

Maddie beamed. She knew Edward would still be reading her thoughts, but maybe not as often anymore. That might be wishful thinking, but Maddie was content for now.

"And I am sure he reads your mind because he is looking out for you," Carlisle added.

"Like hell he is, he just wants to get me in trouble." Maddie sulked.

"No, you get yourself in trouble with your actions."

"To be honest: Nobody would have found out what happened at school if it wasn't for Edward."

"Madeline, that doesn't change the fact that what you did was wrong, don't you think?"

"Meh."

Carlisle found that everything had been said, so he cleared his throat. "Maddie, would you mind going to your room for a short while? I'd like to talk to your mother. We'll call you back down as soon as we come to a decision."

"All right." Maddie got a little smile from her mother, then left the room, slightly nervous.

She traipsed up the stairs to her room, and noticed immediately that her door wasn't closed.

"Hey there." She walked inside and plunked down onto her bed, right next to Rosalie.

"How did it go?" Rose flipped her blond curls back over her shoulder and looked at Maddie expectantly.

She shrugged. "Dunno. Get called back down in a few."

Rose nodded her head, then smirked. "Jasper got scolded by Carlisle."

Maddie's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Whhhaaaaaaaaaat?"

"He kept on interrupting me when I was talking to Carlisle and Esme. So when Esme went to talk to you, Jasper got a telling-off."

Maddie laughed out loud and clapped her hands. Finally! So he wasn't perfect either, hahaha!

Laughing along, Rose patted her sister on the head. "I knew you'd like that."

"Hell yeah, I love it! And you know what? Carlisle will talk to Edward about his snooping around in my head."

"That was about time."

"I know!"

But then the atmosphere in the room changed.

"Maddie?" Rosalie said, her voice tense. "I haven't yet apologised for smacking you. I should have given you the chance to explain yourself first. Not to mention that I never should have hit you in the first place. Please forgive me."

"Ah, don't worry, I had already forgotten about it," Maddie answered casually with a wave of her hand.

"Are you sure? You could tell Carlisle and Esme, if you wish, I definitely deserve it."

"Nope. You saved my ass down there. Carlisle was pretty mad when he called for me, but now it's all good."

Rosalie frowned. "I thought you have to come back downstairs soon?"

"Sure, but that means I'll get no more than a grounding," Maddie explained.

"True," Rosalie mused, then added cheerfully, "you're welcome." She smiled and hugged her little sister. "In case you won't be grounded, I'd like to take you to the mall tomorrow, all right?"

Maddie smiled. "Yaaay! Can we go to the games store?"

"Yes."

"And the Vans store?"

"Sure."

"And the book shop?"

"Of course."

"And the pet shop?"

Rose sighed. "We'll go anywhere you want, Maddie."

They would have talked quite a bit more, but a call coming from downstairs indicated for Maddie to get her ass back down there.

* * *

><p>"Madeline," Carlisle said as soon as she was seated.<p>

"Dad," Maddie said, mimicking her father.

"We have talked about the happenings at school and, since your motivation wasn't to steal, we wouldn't feel right to punish you for something that you weren't aware of."

_Yaaaaaaaaaaay!_

"But the fact remains that you took somebody's homework and pretended it to be yours. We do not wish for this to happen again. You do not take homework from others, you do not copy homework from others. And it all comes down to you not completing your homework at home and therefore using your gift to take somebody else's. I know you wanted to get even, but the reason that you chose that particular day was because of you not fulfilling your duty before. Therefore we cannot ignore your actions as irrelevant."

_Noooooooooooo!_

Maddie inched closer towards her Mom, who immediately placed a hand on her daughter's knee and gave it a light squeeze, meaning to comfort her.

"Madeline, I am not going to punish you but establish a new rule for you to follow from now on until further notice."

_Was that a good thing or a bad thing?_ Maddie was confused.

She tilted her head to the side and waited for her father to go on.

"We want you to do your homework as soon as you come home from school. That way you have enough time at hand to complete all of it. Afterwards you are free to spend the rest of the day as you please. Business before leisure, do you understand?"

Maddie had to blink a couple of times, processing the information she just got.

"Sweetie, we do not lay down rules to make you miserable. You benefit from them."

Maddie didn't like the thought of yet another rule. She wanted to protest, but then realised that it wouldn't be of much use. A tantrum would get her in trouble, for sure, and the stupid rule would still be in force.

So she just nodded her head, indicating she understood what her father told her and that she accepted it.

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><p><strong> Do you think the new rule is an appropriate consequence? <strong>

**I had half the chapter already written down and therefore was glad that you, too, thought a spanking would be too much. **

**Next update will be ... TOMORROW! **

**Told ya, reviews make me update faster, haha! So please REVIEW this chapter and make me happy!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here you go, like I promised :-)**

** Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, you guys are awesome!**

**I'd like to answer some of your reviews ... **

**patz13 and superallio: Thank you for coming up with ideas for this story! If it so happens that I do get writer's block, I'll consider them. If you want to read more about Maddie's school - no worries! I have several chapters about that (currently 7, but I am still not done, aaaaahh!) and I'll post them ... sometime. Still have to decide how I'll do it.**

**twilight1987: Jasper is a pain in the ass in this story, isn't he? ;-) Haha, he has his reasons though. I'll try to update my other story soon, it'll show why he is the way he is towards her.**

** Elenielrain: There will be some father-daughter moments in the next few chapters! But Maddie just isn't as close to Carlisle as she is to Esme or Rose. Why? I'll explain in my other story! .. Soon!**

**Ok, now enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think! I really had a blast writing it, tee-hee!**

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><p>Rosalie had promised she would take Maddie shopping on Saturday.<p>

Problem: Even though their parents were back home, the house arrest Jasper had placed Maddie under was unfortunately still valid. So Rose and Maddie had to postpone the trip, which made both girls sad.

But, oh well, they live forever, so it wasn't the end of the world.

But Maddie was so bored. She had spent all Saturday lying around on either the couch or her bed, either reading books or watching TV, until Carlisle got the splendid idea that Maddie could do her homework. Yaaay!

He told her that just because she wasn't able to attend classes on Friday didn't mean she could slack off.

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><p>Sunday evening.<p>

Maddie was frustrated.

Her room looked like hell, because she had been looking _everywhere_, sending her clothes and books and just everything she owned flying through the air, and now her stuff lay scattered on the floor.

She let out an agitated huff, then decided there was no use in looking any further. It was gone - just gone.

Slightly pissed off, she opened her room door with a little more force than necessary, nearly taking it off its hinges. Several deep breaths later, she was more or less calm again. Wouldn't do her any good to break something just because she was messy and unable to find what she was looking for.

Taking a couple of steps forward, she stopped in front of her brother's room which was just opposite hers. She knocked twice, then waited until he would ask her in ... or send her away - it depended on whichever mood he was in.

"Come in." His voice sounded from the other side of the door.

Maddie opened the door just a crack, then pushed lightly against it so it would open up further on its own.

Then, instead of walking in, she leaned against the door frame, her arms folded across her chest. She gave her elder brother a suffering look, bottom lip protruding. "Edward?" she asked in a sad voice.

"Yes, what is it?" He was lying on his black leather couch and looked up from the book he was currently reading.

"Do you know where my 12 Stones-CD is? I can't find it!"

"No, I'm sorry but I cannot help you," he answered, then continued reading.

Maddie let out a low whining sound and looked over her shoulder back into her own room. She really didn't want to look for it in this mess yet again.

So she gazed at Edward and asked in a soft voice, "Can I borrow yours?"

Edward had a huge CD-Collection. Every music genre was present - well, except for country; but who would want to listen to country?

Anyways, since he listened to almost everything, his shelves even held CDs of bands Maddie enjoyed listening to as well. Quite convenient to Maddie, who tended to misplace her stuff; or whenever Esme had been cleaning her room - Maddie couldn't find _anything_ afterwards.

"Sure. First shelf, third row, seventh CD from right," Edward replied casually, his eyes never leaving the pages of his book.

"Thanks." Maddie flashed him a bright smile, then skipped over to his CD shelves.

Edward had everything memorised, so his description was very precise. She found the CD immediately, then turned around and began to walk out of the room when she suddenly halted.

"You," she said through gritted teeth and slowly turned back around to face her brother.

Edward bookmarked, closed the book and put it down on the table next to his couch. Then he looked up at her. "What?"

"This is mine!" she exclaimed, sounding far from happy.

"No, it is not, Madeline," he countered and folded his hands.

She huffed, stomped over to the couch he was occupying and shoved the CD cover in his face.

"There. It is _mine,_" Maddie said more indignantly.

Edward did not react to her words, just pushed her arm away, so he could actually look her in the eye again.

"No." was all he said.

She huffed once again, this time louder than before, and pointed to the upper left corner of the CD frame with her middle finger.

Yeah, she used that one on purpose.

A tiny black star could be seen in the corner she pointed at. Why? Because Maddie was in the habit of marking her belongings when bored. She got bored a lot. So all of her CDs, books and DVDs held a tiny star, drawn with the help of a black permanent marker.

Maddie asked, not too politely, "Why would you take my stuff?"

Now Edward propped himself up on one elbow, cleared his throat and started explaining. "Do you remember several months ago when you couldn't find the exact same CD? I let you borrow mine."

As if vampires would forget.

She snorted, then said, "Yes."

"You scratched it. The CD, mind you," he explained further.

"It was an accident. I told you I was sorry."

"You did, but sometimes saying sorry is not good enough," he countered and sounded like a conceited ass.

_Huh?_

"Are you high? What are you talking about?" _What exactly was he getting at?_

"You ruined my CD, so I took yours in exchange for the one you had broken."

"Wh- ... what? !" she managed to say in between laughs. _He was being ridiculous!_ "Why didn't you just buy a new one, we're filthy rich!"

Edward had an answer for that. "Then you wouldn't learn to be more careful with other people's belongings in the future, now would you?"

Maddie's jaw dropped. _Seriously?_

She pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek, then said to her dear brother, "You are seriously dead from the neck up. I'm going to my room now, and I'll take _my_ CD with me." She turned around and started to walk towards the door, when Edward all of the sudden said, "Freeze."

She wheeled around, shouting, "_What?_"

As calmly as he could manage to be, he told her, "This is my CD, and I am not willing to lend it to you anymore. Give it back."

"Hell no!" Was he crazy? It was _hers_, after all.

"Madeline ...," he warned and stood up from his leather couch, hoping he could intimidate her.

She couldn't care less.

"Screw you," Maddie answered and flipped him the bird.

Edward seized that exact moment to grab the CD which Maddie was holding in her hand. But unfortunately she didn't let go.

Both held onto it - tightly enough so that the other one wouldn't win, but carefully enough as to not break it to pieces.

"Stop this childish behaviour and give me back my CD!" Edward growled and pulled, but Maddie still did not let go and snapped, "You are the one who's acting childishly!"

It was a tug of war until Edward had enough. He braced his right foot against the couch for leverage and wrenched the CD from his sister's hands.

Suddenly an ear-piercing scream split the air.

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><p><strong> A cliffy! Yaaay! <strong>

**I know it's mean, but it was just the perfect stopping point!**

**REVIEW and let me know what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Tadaaa, next chapter! I couldn't update yesterday because I went shopping with my sister, but you forgive me, right? ;-)**

** I really hope that you'll like it! ... but maybe you won't.**

**It depends...**

** Oh, before I forget: Edward took the CD a couple of weeks ago, Maddie just didn't notice! And why did he do it? - Because he's a jerk, ha!**

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><p><em>It was a tug of war until Edward had enough. He braced his right foot against the couch for leverage and wrenched the CD from his sister's hand.<em>

_ Suddenly an ear-piercing scream split the air._

Immediately white-hot pain shot through Maddie's hand, and she clutched it tightly in a desperate attempt to make the sudden pain go away.

"You ripped my finger off! FUCKER!" she yelled at Edward, then gasped for air.

A little venom oozed from the spot where usually her index finger was _supposed_ to be attached to her left hand. Her finger had fallen to the ground along with the CD - her scream of pain had made Edward drop everything in shock.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -," he started to say in a panic-stricken voice and helplessly moved his hands around. But then hesuddenly went rigid and remarked in a choked voice, "Esme and Carlisle are coming up."

Maddie's eyes went wide, forgetting about the pain for a moment. "Fuck," she pressed out, then bent down and picked up her finger in a hurry, stuffing it into the back pocket of her jeans in lack of a better hiding place.

Weird feeling ... picking up your severed finger and hiding it, eeww.

She tried to blink back the venom that had formed in her eyes and hoped her parents wouldn't notice. She also hoped they hadn't heard what exactly she had just yelled at her brother; but they had been sitting outside on the porch, so maybe she was lucky.

Edward moved over to stand on the spot where her finger had landed on the floor. The venom had left a little stain, so he tried to hide it that way.

Maddie quickly scratched the back of her right hand, licked over the scratch and shoved both her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie, before ...

Their parents were standing in the door, eyes wide and full of panic, scared that something horrible might have happened to their children.

"What's going on here? What happened?" Carlisle asked frantically; Esme followed right behind him, grabbing his arm before looking into her son's room, frightened about what they might find in there.

But when they saw both children just standing there and giving them sheepish looks, Carlisle's voice changed from frantic to slightly worried. "Why were you screaming, Madeline? What happened? You gave us a real scare."

"I ... well ...," she didn't trust her voice just yet; she was trembling in every limb and tried so hard to get it under control.

"Sweetheart, are you crying?" Esme squinted at her daughter and took a step into the room towards her, having noticed her teary eyes and the trembling.

Maddie took a step backwards.

Carlisle raised an eyebrow at that motion. "The truth. Have you two been fighting?" He did not sound amused.

Edward and Maddie looked at each other for a brief moment, and he could see her grit her teeth together at the pain that was still dominating her mind.

"We were arguing, sorry," Edward answered.

That was the truth, wasn't it?

"I smell venom," Carlisle walked further into the room and looked back and forth between his children.

"I accidentally scratched her hand," Edward explained after a moment of hesitating. He was paying close attention to what his sister was thinking right now because she luckily had a plan, just couldn't speak right now. And since Maddie felt like crying, he decided to do the talking for her, giving her the chance to concentrate on breathing the pain away.

"Let me see," their father said, immediately changing into full doctor-mode.

"It's nothing, and I've already sealed it by licking the wound." Maddie said through gritted teeth, but obediently held out her hand for Carlisle to see. He took it in his and examined the scratch, letting his thumb run over it lightly.

"Yes, it'll be healed soon. Good." He nodded his head, more than happy that nothing worse had happened. He looked at her a moment longer, then patted her on the head soothingly because she seemed to feel pain from the scratch. "How did it happen?"

"I tried to snatch the CD away from her. She pulled away but my fingernail scraped her hand," Edward lied, repeating what Maddie dictated him in her mind.

Madde still tried to breath the pain away, but it didn't really work. Well, to her parents she probably looked just very upset and a bit whiny right now - nothing unusual, she guessed.

"I should have asked Maddie to give it to me instead of just reaching out to take it from her, I'm sorry," Edward said in an attempt to quicken things up. He just wanted them out of the room, so Maddie wouldn't need to suffer any longer.

"Don't apologise to me, Edward, apologise to your sister," Carlisle ordered and his voice was strict.

Edward turned to his side, looked his sister straight in the eye and said, "I didn't mean to scratch you, Maddie. Please accept my apologies."

She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the pain that still pulsated angrily in her injured hand. "It's okay," she whispered.

"Now, did you resolve the problem?"

"Yes, Dad," Maddie and Edward replied in unison.

"Very well."

"Come now, Maddie, leave your brother to himself." Esme then turned back around, only to call out, "What happened to your room? Madeline, it looks like a pigsty in there!"

Oh dear, Maddie hadn't bothered to close her door when she went to ask Edward for his CD.

"I was looking for something. But I've found it." Maddie answered in a little voice - that was all she could manage to utter. Edward quickly picked the cracked CD cover up from the floor and handed it to her. She took it from him with her scratched hand, then held it up for them to see and smiled sheepishly.

Esme shook her head in disbelief. "Tidy your room, Maddie, I cannot believe you would make such a mess of your belongings."

"Sure," Maddie pressed out, not trusting herself to say any more than necessary - the pain was even worse now.

Unfortunately, Carlisle misinterpreted her tone of voice as disrespect.

He cleared his throat, then ordered in a strict tone of voice, "Madeline, you do it now. Nobody else but you is responsible for this disorder, so none of your cheek."

Maddie took a deep breath, then said as calmly and evenly as she could manage, "Sorry."

Her parents both nodded their heads, accepting her apology.

Carlisle put one arm around his wife's shoulders and together they descended the stairs.

_Finally!_

Maddie however, stayed in Edward's room instead of going into her own.

"That was close," Edward said, letting his finger's run through his messy hair. "and I am so sorry about your finger. Does it hurt badly?"

"Like a bitch," she ground out, taking out her hand from her pocket and looking at the stump. The sight of it made her tremble violently. Now that she didn't need to hold it in anymore, she got the feeling that the pain decided to just intensify, making the venom in her eyes spill over. A choked sob escaped her lips and she bit down on her lips to keep herself from crying.

"It will take maybe one or two days to completely heal, Maddie."

"_Two days?_ Shit," Maddie replied in a strained voice. Then she asked a question, of which she was already dreading the answer to. "Does it leave a scar?"

He hesitated, but eventually nodded his head. "I think so, yes."

"Just my luck," she replied and more tears leaked from her eyes as she cried. Why the heck had she covered up for Edward? She was _so_ stupid!

If it'd leave a scar, she had to come up with a damn good explanation for it - a finger doesn't just fall off.

Or she would need to hide it for all eternity ... with a ring or gloves or something. Argh!

"What do we do now?" Edward asked, pointing at her hand.

Maddie pondered over her possibilities. She realised that the pain wouldn't get any better as long as her finger wasn't back on her hand, so she said, "I'll take care of it.", and walked out of his room.

After a quick stop in the bathroom to get her crying under control and wash her face as best she could with one hand, she spoke a little to herself to check if she could pass as a painfree person again.

Then she made her way down the stairs on shaky legs and took several deep breaths before walking across the living room and the kitchen to get to the garage.

"Where are you going, dear?" Esme asked from her seat on the couch as soon as Maddie had reached the kitchen.

"Just to the garage, Mom," Maddie answered, more or less casually. She tried to focus on the lies she was going to tell them, not the pain she was in.

"Did you lose something? Do you want me to help you looking?" Esme made to stand up from the couch, so Maddie hastily said, "No need, I just came downstairs to get some tape."

"Why do you need tape, Maddie?" Carlisle turned around as well and looked questioningly at his daughter, waiting for her to explain.

"There is a crack in my CD cover, I just wanna tape it before it breaks completely."

That explanation was good enough for her parents; they had seen the CD their children had been arguing about, and they remembered having seen a large crack in the cover Maddie had held up in order to show him.

"Look in the toolbox if you need duct tape, dear," he called over his shoulder.

"I will, thanks," she replied and continued her way to the garage in order to retrieve the tape.

When she walked back towards the staircase however, her parents called her over into the living room.

"Sweetie, let me see your eyes," Esme said and waited for Maddie to come and stand before her.

"When was the last time you hunted?" she asked and her voice held concern. Upstairs in her son's room she had already noticed the change in Maddie's eye colour. It looked even darker now. Still not black, mind you, but more like dark caramel. It was very noticeable, since her daughter's eyes were normally of a bright honey colour. Due to the frequency they made her hunt, the colour of her eyes did not vary much.

"I went on Thursday, with Emmett," Maddie replied with a shrug. She had put the duct tape around her wrist, wearing it like a bracelet, so she could hide her hands in the front pocket of her hoodie again.

"I have never seen them that dark before, dear. You must hunt soon, you cannot go to school like this tomorrow."

"Sure, I'll ask Edward," Maddie replied and started walking in the direction of the staircase.

Now Carlisle spoke up. "Edward? You two have been fighting not even ten minutes ago."

"I know, but I made up with him," she shrugged her shoulders again.

"All right. If he doesn't want to join you, we will take you, honey."

Maddie gulped - she wouldn't be able to hunt with her hands in her front pocket and that way they would notice. No, she couldn't let that happen. "Thanks Daddy, I'll ask him now."

Running upstairs again, she plopped down onto her bed and closed her eyes for a brief moment. No wonder her eyes looked dark - she had to endure an immense amount of pain but needed to ignore it - pretending like she had never felt better in front of her parents.

Now she could focus back on the task at hand. She retrieved her finger from her jeans pocket and held it up to take a closer look. It was sticky with venom, so she smeared it on her jeans - Alice had picked the pair out for her, so it wasn't too bad if it got ruined.

Then Maddie carefully tried to wipe the stump on her jeans and hissed when the searing pain shot right up to her shoulder. She just wanted to get rid of the fluff from the hoodie pocket sticking to the wound, but it just hurt too much and she didn't succeed. Taking deep breaths, she waited until the pain cooled down a little, then she just pressed her severed finger to the stump and wrapped duct tape all around it several times.

There. It held everything together.

"Maddie ... duct tape?" Edward had walked into her room while she was taping her hand up, eyeing it carefully.

"I works, doesn't it?" she said and tried to blink the fresh venom in her eyes away. "Or do you have a better idea?"

"No, and I am terribly sorry that you have to go through so much pain. Maybe we should apply a bandage or -"

"Uh-huh, that would look inconspicious. How would I explain? It's a fashion statement? Yeah, right," she mocked and snuffled to get rid of the thick venom clogging her nose.

He had nothing to say to that.

Maddie spoke up again. "Oh, you owe me, by the way."

"I am really sorry, Maddie, I didn't mean to hurt you." He sounded sincere. Of course he did, he felt horrible for having hurt her ... maybe they should come clean and tell Carlisle so he could take care of the wound. But it was clear in Maddie's mind that she wouldn't want that.

"Well, too bad, you did hurt me anyways. And now you owe me," Maddie said determinedly and tried to put on a smirk. It looked more like a grimace, but he knew what she was implying with that.

Silence.

"Oh no ... really?" Edward asked after reading her thoughts.

"I think it's fair," she half-smiled, well, if you could call it smiling while being in pain.

He sighed. "All right, when?"

"That's for me to decide." she answered and mused what the best time would be to follow through with it.

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	22. Chapter 22

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><p>Maddie went hunting with Edward that night. They had left before their siblings came back home, so they couldn't offer to join them.<p>

It was quite complicated for Maddie to hunt with her injured hand ... she was very thirsty, suppressing the searing hot pain had taken its toll on her. So while she was eagerly swallowing the blood of a young doe, she had somehow lost her finger again; she hadn't been careful enough and animals struggle!

So when she came home, the pain was as bad as it had been before. Especially, because the wound was even dirtier now, but she couldn't get the dirt particles out without trembling and crying, so she decided to forego the cleaning part ... her venom would probably dissolve the foreign substances, so there was no need for her to do it.

Jasper felt it immediately - the nervousness, tension and pain was very prominent. That's why he asked her if she was all right or if she needed help, but she just told him she was upset about having to clean up her room.

When he wouldn't believe her and then even threatened to tell Carlisle that she's hurt so that he could examine her, Maddie made him unable to sense the mixed emotions she was feeling by dictating him to feel her being sulky and angry because of her room.

Alice told her that she was being stupid and that she should tell their parents, but Maddie wouldn't listen. It was too late for that now, wasn't it?

She knew she never should have lied ... Edward would have been in trouble for not being careful, she wouldn't! Dammit, and now she had to cover up for him ... and herself.

Edward didn't listen to Alice either, even though the two were very close. In the end Alice just said they were on their own now and she would not get involved.

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><p>"Madeline! Time for school, please come down now!" Carlisle called, not wanting to be late.<p>

He drummed his fingers on the kitchen counter impatiently, until Maddie finally came into view.

She had been sitting in her room, taking a layer of gooey tape off her stupid finger once again. The venom kind of melted the tape, so it would lose its function pretty quickly and her finger was loose again.

Yes, Maddie wasn't too smart about that - the tape soiled the wound again and again, that way it just couldn't heal, but she kept on using just that instead of a bandage or the like.

Edward had promised her to stay out of her head, he felt guilty and would have done anything to make her feel better. So he did not notice that what his sister was doing was just plain dumb.

When Carlisle called for the third time, telling her to come down or he would come up, she let out a little whimper, then jumped over to her closet and looked through the clothes and accessories.

Nothing there, except for a pair of mittens. Pink mittens.

Maddie thought about it, but then dismissed the idea of wearing them in order to hide her injured hand. She hated the colour pink with a passion, and it was still too warm to be wearing mittens. Her parents would know for sure that something was off.

Putting a fresh layer of tape around her finger, she then pulled her old, black gloves over her hands and nodded her head in satisfaction. These ones didn't hide all the tape, because Maddie had cut the fingers off of these gloves a while ago, but maybe nobody would notice.

"There you are. Let's go, we do not want to be late," Carlisle said as soon as his youngest walked into the kitchen. He hastily kissed his wife goodbye, waited for her to kiss Maddie goodbye, the led his daughter into the garage.

Maddie had yet another idea for hiding her hands: Instead of wearing her school blazer, she had just draped it over her left forearm, effectively hiding her hand from view - it looked casual and inconspicious. _Perfect._

"Carlisle!" Edward followed them to the garage, saying, "I could take her to school."

Carlisle frowned. "It is quite all right, Edward, we'll still make it in time."

"But -" Edward started to say, but Carlisle interrupted him.

"Get in the car, Madeline," Carlisle just said, pointing towards his Mercedes.

Maddie nodded her head and obeyed her father.

Then he turned back around, letting his arm rest on the roof of his car. "What is going on, Edward? What's this about?"

"I would just like to spend more time with Maddie."

"You'll pick her up from school today," Carlisle remarked, then tilted his head to the side. "What's really going on?"

Edward hesitated, then answered. "I held her up, it's my fault she wasn't ready on time. If you allow me to take her to school, you won't be running late for work. I'd make me feel better."

"No, I still have time. But thank you for your concern. Now go and wait for your siblings."

He gave his son a pat on the shoulder, then walked around the car and sat down in the driver's seat.

"Buckle up, sweetie," Carlisle said while fastening his own seatbelt.

Maddie rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. Why hadn't she just buckled up while her Dad was talking to Edward?

It wasn't exactly easy to put the buckle into the counterpiece while trying not to move her left hand and keeping it hidden underneath her blazer.

But at least Carlisle was focussing on the road ahead and she could take her time. He wanted her to wear a seatbelt whenever they drove through town - he was a doctor, after all. A doctor, who wouldn't let his children drive without a seatbelt - for safety reasons, of course. Well, at least that was what humans were supposed to think.

"You may put your blazer on the backseat, honey, no need to hold it for the car ride."

"Nah, it's okay," she said coolly.

"Are you trying to hide the fact that you are wearing gloves?" he asked and shot her a glance. "You know you cannot wear them in class."

"I won't wear them in class, just put them in my locker as soon as I'm at school, okay?" She became more and more agitated by the second. _Why did he ask so many questions? Ugh_.

So she rummaged in her backpack, which was lying on the floor between her knees, and retrieved her MP3-player.

Carlisle looked over at her when she started to disentangle the cord of her ear plugs with one hand. It took longer than it normally would, but finally she was done.

Pushing the plugs into her ears, she started the music. That way she wouldn't need to talk to her father. It was hard enough to ignore the pain and trying to maintain a casual attitude. _But answering all of his questions on top of that?_ Sooner or later she would get in trouble then, she knew it.

Before they reached the street where her school was located, Carlisle nudged his daughter lightly.

"Maddie, put your music away, we are nearly there," he said.

Maddie sighed, then switched the player off and stuffed it back into the backpack. Too bad she didn't coil the cable of her ear plugs around the music devise, because it caught in the zipper of her bag, effectively stopping it from being zipped up.

She huffed, then reached forward with both hands, to open the bag again, stuff the cable into the pocket further and close the zipper.

"Why do you have duct tape wrapped around your finger?" Carlisle asked, frowning. When she had buggered about with her bag, he had looked over to see what she was doing. He immediately noticed something silvery poking out from under her glove.

_Damn._

She froze momentarily and went with the first excuse that came to her mind. "I was bored," she answered with a wave of her hand.

"Take it off, dear," he ordered.

"Yeah, I'll do it at school."

"Take it off now. I don't want you playing with it throughout class and then getting yourself in trouble for not paying attention."

"I won't play with it, I'll take it straight off once I'm inside," she replied petulantly, raising her voice.

Carlisle narrowed his eyes at her. Something wasn't right with his daughter, he could sense it; and he was determined to find out what was going on.

They had reached the school by now and Carlisle stopped the car next to the big iron gate that opened up to the front court of the school.

"Madeline, take it off _now_."

"Why?" she whined.

"I told you why."

Maddie glared at him and crossed her arms in defiance. She wanted to stall as much as possible, so Carlisle would just give up and let her leave before she would be late for first period. And she had actually crossed her arms only to get her left hand further away from her Dad without him noticing.

Unfortunately, that specific gesture _made_ him notice.

So he reached over and wrapped his fingers around Maddie's wrist, pulling her hand towards himself. She struggled in his grip but he was stronger and wouldn't let go.

First he pulled the glove off her hand, uncovering more tape wound around her finger. The closer it got to the palm of her hand, the more deformed it looked. That was odd.

Then he got hold of the tape and unwrapped it from her finger, revealing a nasty cut all the way around it. It was deep, and the tape had gone quite gooey, sticking to the wound. The moment Carlisle pulled the tape completely off - which had gone stringy the closer it got to the wound - Maddie's finger shifted and kind of hung from her hand - like it was boneless or numb. The smell of venom and molten plastic hit them and Maddie gagged. It really smelled worse in the car than back home in her room with wide open windows.

"What happened?" He sounded shocked, then scanned her hand with an experienced eye. He figured out what must have happened, but still wanted her to tell him.

She tried to squirm out of the hold her father had on her wrist, all the while averting her eyes.

"I expect an answer, young lady. What happened to your finger?" he asked, louder now.

"I'm gonna be late, Daddy, _let go_!" she whined, then finally managed to pull free from her Dad's grip. She wanted to open the door in order to flee from the car, but her father activated the power door locks quickly.

"Oh no, you don't," he snarled and fixed her with a glare.

Well, she still could have opened the passenger door considering she was a vampire and stronger than the stupid lock, but it probably wasn't the best idea right now to destroy her father's Mercedes.

"I cut my finger and -"

"This is not just a cut, Madeline! Your finger has been broken off, am I right?"

When she didn't answer, he spoke again.

"That is why you screamed yesterday, isn't it? Did Edward do that?"

She considered telling him a lie about how it happened during her hunt, but then decided against it. _He knew_. She knew that he knew.

"It was an accident," she mumbled, but did not dare to look him in the eye.

"Then why didn't you come to me right away?" Carlisle queried with a raised eyebrow, incredibly agitated that she would try to hide such an injury from him. The pain she must be feeling ...

"It's already healing. No big deal, really." She rejected the injury with a shrug of her shoulders, but he could see her eyes glazing over with venom. Now that her finger wasn't supported by the tape anymore, the pain was probably intensifying again.

Carlisle let his fingers run through his hair exasperatedly; he realised that talking about what happened right now wouldn't make any sense. And his daughter was still in pain, therefore he wanted to tend to her wound immediately.

"We are running out of time. I'll clean your wound and bandage it. But rest assured, we'll talk more when I come home from work. Understood?"

Maddie nodded her head - she looked scared and close to tears.

Carlisle got out of his car and retrieved his medical bag from the trunk.

Walking back to the front of the car, he got into the driver's seat and opened the bag.

"Not even the bone has mended!" he huffed, while getting the gluey and dirty remnants of the tape out of the wound. "Madeline, you didn't clean it properly, it cannot heal that way! And don't ever use _duct tape_!"

"Be careful, Daddy," she begged while taking deep breaths. It hurt, no need to pretend that it didn't anymore.

Carlisle then heaved an exasperated sigh and explained, "I have to detach your finger in order to put it together properly, only the lower layers of skin have grown together."

Her eyes, wide and shining with venom, looked so panicky and scared. "No, please don't ... it'll heal of it's own, don't take it off!"

The school bell rang and the girls, who had still been standing in front of the building, walked inside now.

The windows of Carlisle's car were tinted, therefore nobody could have seen Maddie's injured hand. But he waited anyways because he wanted to make sure nobody was around in case Maddie would scream.

He couldn't pay mind to her begging - the way this wound looked, it would never heal.

So he just looked her deep in the eye and said, "Brace yourself."

She whimpered and bit down on her lip to keep herself from crying out when her father took her finger completely off.

Maddie couldn't help but start shaking and sobbing; it hurt too much.

He felt a pang of guilt for causing her this pain, for making her cry ... but he was trying to help her and there was no way around it. Had she shown him the wound the day before, right after it had happened, then she wouldn't have suffered for so long and he wouldn't have needed to take her finger off.

The irritation and concern he felt were pressing down on his chest. "If you are injured and not come to me straight away ever again, I will put you over my knee, you hear?" he threatened, hoping a situation like this would never occur again. The poor thing had been suffering for such a long time now, and it had been completely unnecessary.

"Yes," Maddie replied in a strained voice, teary-eyed. It really hurt, the disinfection stuff burned and smelled horrible, but he wouldn't let her pull away. He wrapped her hand in a white bandage, fixing everything so her finger could not shift and would finally be able to heal properly.

When he was done, he stroked her cheek lovingly, then embraced her in a tight hug.

"All done, princess," he cooed. "It'll stop hurting soon, I promise."

She nodded her head, and wiped at her eyes with her good hand.

He watched his daughter for a moment and decided that she shouldn't be attending classes in a condition like this.

"Sweetie," he sighed. "I wouldn't be comfortable letting you sit in class all day while not feeling well. I think, I better take you back home to your mother."

"No, it's okay," she said, sniffling.

"You are in pain. You should rest, darling. Esme will take good care of you, all right?"

"Daddy please, let me decide." Maddie didn't really like school, but thinking about facing Esme right now wasn't very appealing. She knew her mother would look after her, trying to make her feel better, but it would just make Maddie feel even guiltier instead.

"I'm staying."

Carlisle thought about that. She had been hunting mere hours ago and her hand would be able to heal properly now, what with all the melted tape removed. So she wouldn't pose a danger to the humans surrounding her. But he also thought about her well-being. She would make a quicker recovery under Esme's care than here at school.

He just started the car.

"Stop! I'm not coming with you!" Maddie suddenly complained.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I am taking you home now," he told her and sped down the street, away from school.

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	23. Chapter 23

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><p>On the drive back home, Maddie tried to reason with her father.<p>

"Daddy?" she asked, still sniffling a bit. "I am well. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

He took a quick glance at her. "Madeline, enough," he rebuked, knowing exactly what she was trying to achieve by saying that.

She huffed. "But I'm fine! Turn around."

"No. I'm taking you home."

"But look, it's better!" she said emphatically and started to meddle with the bandage.

Carlisle quickly reached over and put his hand over Maddie's, restraining her from taking the gauze bandage off.

"If this bandage needs changing or has to be removed, I will do it - not you. Now stop touching it," he ordered, then put his hand back on the steering wheel.

Maddie made a face and sulked.

"I'm not hurting anymore," she lied after a minute of silence and kicked her backpack lightly in frustration. Why wouldn't he believe her?

But Carlisle saw that her body hadn't stopped trembling yet - a dead giveaway that she was still in pain.

"I believe you that you are feeling a bit better, but I don't believe you that you are pain-free. That would be a miracle, dear."

_Boo._

"Take me back ... otherwise doing my homework would have been nothing but a waste of time, Dad." Would that change his mind?

He chuckled. "You are not doing your homework for your teachers, Maddie, but for your own benefit."

She didn't look convinced. "You sure?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I am sure," he said and ruffled her hair. He was glad that right now she was distracted from the pain she was still feeling - there was no Advil for vampires, after all.

While they were heading homewards, Carlisle called the hospital to tell them his arrival would be delayed; he apologised for the inconvenience and promised to be there as soon as possible. Maddie rolled her eyes - if he had listened to her and allowed her to go to school, he wouldn't be late now, now would he?

Then he called his wife and told her that their youngest would be staying home for the day and she should call the school to excuse Maddie's absence. After mentioning that Maddie was injured and needed some comfort, Esme was worried sick. Luckily they had already reached Forks, so it wasn't too long until they got home.

Carlisle steered his black Mercedes along the pathway which led to their residence. Even though they hadn't quite reached the house yet, Esme had already opened the front door and stood there, waiting for them to arrive.

The moment Carlisle stopped the car next to the garage, Esme yanked the passenger's door open and hugged her daughter close.

"What happened, honey? You're shaking!" she exclaimed, then looked at Carlisle. "Has she been crying? She has been crying!"

She looked back at Maddie. "Oh, it's all right now, sweetie, Mommy's got you."

Woah ... that was exactly what Maddie anticipated would happen, and she didn't like it - it made her feel bad.

She got out of the car with Esme having an arm around her waist; Esme immediately took her backpack so she wouldn't have to carry it with her bandaged hand.

"Maddie, honey, talk to me. What happened to your hand?" Her voice was dripping with concern.

"Daddy ripped my finger off," Maddie answered, inwardly laughing at the plain fact that it was the truth.

_Hey! It was!_

Someone cleared his throat behind them. Well, guess who, only the three of them were here ...

"Speak the truth, Madeline."

She turned around and looked at him, eyes all big and innocent.

"It _is_ the truth, and it hurt!"

"All right, I hope you enlighten your mother about yesterday's and today's events. I need to get to work now."

He was with them in three long strides, gave them kisses, then headed back to his car.

After saying goodbye to him, Esme guided her daughter into the house, closed the front door behind them, and led her to the living room.

"Come, sit down. You can tell me what happened now."

"Mommy ... can I get changed first? I'll make it quick, I promise." Maddie hated her uniform and tried not to wear it any more than necessary.

"Of course, take your time." Esme didn't mind waiting a while longer to talk things over with her daughter. Maddie was home, she was more or less safe and sound, and that thought calmed Esme enormously.

Maddie hurried up the stairs, retrieved her cell phone from her backpack, and then threw the bag under her desk.

She just had to let him know. It would be mean to keep him in the dark about what just happened.

So Maddie started typing away. Well, only one word actually.

_Sorry_

She didn't even put an exclamation mark or a full stop at the end. Just texted that one word to her brother, who would probably be in trouble once he got home. But now he would be prepared.

Breathing a sigh of relief that that had been taken care of, she turned around and ... saw clothes lying on her bed.

_Oh, Alice._

Maddie remembered having made a promise to Alice. She would be allowed to dress her and do her hair for two whole weeks. And her sister had obviously seen what was going to take place today, so she had picked out clothes for her to change into.

So Maddie had no choice but to comply; she changed into the denim skirt, white top and black cardigan that were draped over her bed. Putting on the cardigan was a bit of a struggle, though; The bandage on her hand was quite bulky and annoying, but she succeeded after another minute.

Making her way back downstairs, Esme opened her arms the second she saw her daughter, indicating for her to come and sit with her.

Esme put an arm around Maddie and gave her a kiss on the temple as soon as she was seated, then asked, "Now, dear, what happened to your hand?"

"When?" There were several times that something had happened to her hand, right?

"Start from the beginning, sweetie. I would like to hear the full story," she replied and tucked a loose strand of Maddie's hair behind her ear, then held her daughter's good hand in hers.

"It happened yesterday, when I was talking to Edward... but I swear it was an accident!" she added the last part with wide eyes.

"What exactly happened?"

Maddie squirmed a bit... she really felt like a back-stabber and thought about just not answering.

"Maddie, dear...," Esme cooed, inching even closer to her daughter and hugging her. "Don't be scared of telling me."

Maddie pondered over saying that she herself broke her finger. Carlisle had just _assumed_ it had been Edward ... and Esme did not have a clue what was going on.

But unfortunately the silence unnerved Esme, who asked worriedly, "Are you hurting again? Talk to me, Maddie! Are you hurting?"

Dear Lord, Maddie felt even worse now. Would she dare to flat-out lie to Esme now?

Esme was just so motherly and protective; it tore her apart every time one of her children was unwell, sad or hurting. Worse was all three of these combined, just like Maddie felt right now.

"Maddie, I'm here, just talk to me." She had put a hand on Maddie's cheek and looked her in the eyes.

"It was an accident," Maddie whispered.

"What happened?"

"We were arguing over a CD, and we both held onto it. Then Edward braced himself and wrenched it from my grasp, ripping my finger off as well. He didn't notice that his fingers were overlapping my left index finger. That's how it happened."

Esme gasped, holding her hand over her mouth in shock.

"I heard you scream, but I didn't notice you were severely injured! Oh baby, how could I not notice?" Esme asked, clearly upset.

"No, no! Mommy, I'm all better now. Look!" She held up her bandaged hand, hoping it would soothe her mother's nerves. "Daddy patched me up, I'm healing."

But the opposite effect occurred - Esme looked _guilty, _devastated even_._

"Mom, stop! You had nothing to do with it! I didn't want you to know, okay?"

Esme's voice was shaky. "Why, Maddie?"

"I don't know! I panicked, I guess. And I didn't think you would care."

Esme looked at Maddie, hoping she would explain, because what she just said didn't make any sense.

"We wouldn't care that you are injured?" she asked and squinted at Maddie. She couldn't feel anything but confusion at that statement.

"I don't know! It was like ... I thought you would be mad at me."

Esme blinked a couple of times, trying to process this information.

"Why do you think we would be angered about you being in pain and telling us about it?"

Maddie frowned. "So ... you wouldn't?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course not, no! Why would you even think that?" Esme could have laughed at the absurdity of the thought alone. Why on earth would they ever be mad at her for telling them she was hurt? They were her parents, for heaven's sake!

Maddie looked like she herself had no clue what she was talking about. "I don't know," she said, looking confused.

But then, Esme knew.

It hurt her that her daughter would be frequently confronted with her past - even though Maddie didn't realise it this time. Maybe her memories had faded some more as would be desirable.

Before Maddie could ponder it over and realise just why she had assumed that her parents would be mad at her, Esme drew her attention back to yesterday's happenings.

"What happened after Edward hurt you?"

"Well, you came up because I screamed and I knew you would want to know why, so I scratched my other hand."

"Go on." Esme's voice was tense - she didn't like that Maddie would lie about being hurt and, in addition, hurt herself even more.

"I needed to fix my finger, that is why I got the duct tape from the garage. But it didn't work too well. I had to change it every couple of hours and my hand somehow didn't grow back together. And then I tried to hide it this morning, but Dad saw my hand when we were in the car. Then he took my finger off again, cleaned it, bandaged everything up and wouldn't let me go to school." Maddie pouted while she said the last sentence.

"Oh honey, I am so sorry that you had to go through all of this." Esme hugged Maddie tightly and patted her back.

"It's okay." Maddie tried to shrug it off.

"No, it is not. We'll be talking to Edward about this," Esme promised.

"But you always say I am responsible for my actions, so there is no need to talk to him."

"Yes darling, but he knew you were hurt and didn't tell us either. That was wrong of him, especially since he was the person who caused the pain."

"It was my decision," Maddie said firmly.

Esme frowned at that. "Did you _keep _him from telling us?"

"No." Maddie shook her head.

"See? Now don't concern yourself about us talking to Edward anymore. Relax a bit, I want you to make a good recovery, dear."

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><p><strong>Happy with this chapter? It is actually my 2nd version ... in my 1st one, Maddie did go to school after Carlisle taped up her hand and Edward picked her up later and yeah ... but then I changed it, because I thought it would be more like Carlisle if he brought Maddie home to Esme. Right?<strong>

** I'm already excited about the next chapter :-D**

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	24. Chapter 24

**Here you go!**

** This is the first of the two chapters I'm updating today. If you don't like two updates in one day - thank patz13 *hahahaha***

**Katie: You have to tell me what exactly the one-shot should be about. Right now, I only have ideas for this story, but not for a one-shot, sorry! It's up to you! Or maybe someone could help?**

**Elenielrain: A trampoline? Awesome! Yeah, I never got one of those either. But Maddie might like it ;-) I know it seems unfair that everybody can leave the house whenever they want, and Maddie cannot. But they think she is still too young. I'm not telling you more now because I don't wanna spoil anything (still have more chapters and a new story on my laptop for you to read)!**

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><p>Maddie was sitting on Edward's couch, waiting for him to come home. She swung her legs back and forth like she was bored, even though she was actually quite tensed up.<p>

Esme had hugged and kissed and pampered her so much during the last couple of hours that Maddie just couldn't take it anymore. Well, the pain had faded a lot, only a little burning sensation remained at the base of her index finger. Esme's gentle words and hugs had helped to soothe Maddie's pain, but she still felt ... bad. She had upset her mother, maybe even insulted her by not telling her immediately that she got hurt. That's why she asked to be allowed to withdraw half an hour ago.

So now Maddie sat here, alone - waiting.

Of course she already told Edward that they were busted; therefore he knew what to expect when he would come home from school. But what exactly had leaked through? - Not so much.

The moment her siblings arrived, Maddie sat up straight. Edward barged into his own room mere seconds later, looking at his sister.

"Esme send me to my room as soon as I set foot in the kitchen," he said. When he got a good look at his sister, he gasped and exclaimed, "Your hand! It still wasn't healed this morning?" He warily eyed the thick bandage around her hand and waited for her to answer.

"No." She shook her head. "It looked disgusting, and Carlisle took my finger off again to patch me up."

Edward winced when he saw the memories Maddie had of this morning. But, he noticed, Carlisle didn't look particularly angry, just concerned.

"I'm genuinely sorry. About everything," he said and sat down next to her.

"_I'm_ sorry," Maddie murmured, feeling like she fucked up big time.

"Don't be stupid, you have nothing to apologise for. I hurt you and then we tried to hide it," he remarked unhappily, then asked, "How are you feeling anyways? Is your hand better?"

"It is. But we're in trouble, aren't we?"

"Well, I know I am. You might be fine," Edward answered and nudged her playfully in the ribs, just to lighten the mood.

"You think so?" Maddie looked up at Edward, biting her lip lightly.

"Why not? You didn't do anything wrong. Except for ... the lying, the hiding ... you're in trouble, too, all right," he confirmed.

Maddie whimpered. _Why did everything have to suck so bad?_

Then she spoke again. "Carlisle wasn't even mad about the lying this morning. He just went nuts when he saw my hand."

"I can imagine."

"Yeah ...," Maddie breathed out. She had told her brother everything she needed to, her job was done now.

So she stood up from the couch, but faced her brother once more.

"Well, I need to go and get my book now. It'll be another two hours until Carlisle comes home and I don't wanna wait downstairs." Maddie made a face and left the room.

She jumped down the stairs, then walked into the living room and found her book where she left it - lying on the coffee table.

Maddie picked it up and turned around swiftly to head back upstairs, when all of a sudden she was stopped by Rose's voice.

"Is that a bandage?" Rose asked and squinted at the white gauze that was wound around her sister's hand. "Maddie, what happened?"

"It's okay, really," Maddie answered casually and walked on.

But Rose was obviously not satisfied with that answer. She rushed towards her sister and seized her by the forearm, effectively stopping her from walking away. "It is not _'okay'_. Who did that?" She sounded worried, while she looked Maddie's hand over.

Then Esme answered. "Maddie and Edward had a little fight yesterday and then he accidentally took her finger off. Carlisle will talk to him about it, Rose, please don't get involved."

Rosalie's eyes bulged. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but no sound came out.

So instead of talking, she settled for narrowing her eyes and huffing, before noisily stomping up the stairs in her black high heels.

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><p>Edward's head shot up and he looked towards the door just in time.<p>

Rosalie stalked into his room, fuming.

"You hurt her!" she accused and pointed a finger at Edward, accompanied by a glare that could have killed. "Manhandling a little girl, are you?"

"Hey!" Maddie shouted and hurried past Rosalie into the room, only to be the one being yelled at by Rose now. "You better keep quiet! How dare you not tell me that he hurt you?"

Maddie took a step backwards - Rose was being scary again, Maddie didn't like that.

But she just wanted to tell her that she wasn't a little girl, for fuck's sake!

"Rosalie, this is none of your business," Edward said, trying to remain calm.

"None of my ...? Are you insane? You _ripped her finger off_!"

"It was an accident!" He snarled at his blonde sister, obviously failing at trying to remain calm.

"I don't care! You haven't been careful enough with her!"

"I'm not fragile!" Maddie huffed and crossed her arms.

Rose glared at her, then continued to yell at her brother. "And then you don't even have the guts to admit to us straightaway what you did!"

Edward stood there with clenched fists and yelled back, "She _didn't want_ me to tell!"

Rose turned slightly to the side, closed her eyes for a brief moment and held a hand to her forehead, hoping it would calm her before she would run the risk of ripping Edward's throat out. But when she started yelling again, she didn't sound calm at all. "And you listen to her because ...? She is a child, you fool!"

"Hey!" Maddie shouted again at her sister. _Little girl, child, ...?_

"It is _her_ hand, therefore it is _her_ choice whom she tells!"

"No, it is not! You caused her pain, so it was your job to make sure she is well cared for, no matter what she thinks!" Rosalie countered.

"I am not like you, Rose! I don't patronise her and watch her every step! She is not your daughter, do you get that?"

If it had been possible, smoke would be streaming out of Rose's ears and nose by then. Yes, she was _that_ livid.

"I am well aware of the fact that she is my sister, but you obviously are not! How many times have you injured her already, huh? Did you beat her to make her submit to your will so she wouldn't tell on you? !"

"Could anyone get this madwoman out of my room? _Now!_" Edward shouted angrily.

As if it couldn't get any worse, Emmett suddenly stepped into the room.

"What's wrong?" he looked between his two siblings and his wife.

Rose pointed at Maddie's bound hand.

"Tiny, what happened?" he gasped and closed the distance between him and her in two long strides, then knelt in front of her, taking her bandaged hand in his and looking at her with worry in his eyes. He then realised what must have happened ... the only way to hurt a vampire so badly that it needed medical attention was when a part of the body had been ripped off.

"Who did that to her?" he demanded, looking at his wife.

"He did," Rose spat and shot Edward a glare.

Emmett stood back up and took a step towards his brother, while shoving Maddie protectively behind himself. "Seriously, bro? Why would you ever hurt her? And why did nobody tell us?"

"She. didn't. want. me. to._ tell_!" Edward pressed out angrily.

"Why do you listen to her when she's in pain? When did it happen anyways?" His brother's behaviour did not make any sense to Emmett.

"Yesterday," Rose answered now.

"No no, I would have noticed if there was a bandage around her hand."

"Dad put it on in the car this morning," Maddie said meekly.

Emmett turned around quickly and looked at his little sister. "So you haven't told him before? Why?"

"Is no one even listening? _She didn't want him to know!_" Edward again.

Emmett raised his voice now. "She is young and inexperienced, how could you hurt her and not even help her afterwards? It was your duty to tell Carlisle immediately, for heaven's sake!"

"Hey!" Maddie whined. She didn't like how they were talking about her.

It seemed like they were determined to give Edward a hard time, and insult Maddie at the same time.

"And why did you injure her? I hope you have a damn good explanation, Eddie." Emmett had his arms folded in front of his chest and glared at Edward.

"It doesn't concern you, so stay out of it, all right?" Edward was fed up and annoyed, that much was clearly recognisable.

"This is my baby sister you hurt, so it damn well concerns me! Don't you ever lay hands on her again!"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not even here!" Maddie complained angrily and stomped her foot. Yeah, it was a childish thing to do, but Maddie couldn't help herself right then. How dare they!

"Shush, sweetie, it's all right." Esme had entered the room and came to a stop next to Maddie, then put an arm around her shoulders and patted her hair with her other hand in order to calm her down a little.

She then looked up at her other children and said, "All of you: It's enough. Leave Edward alone."

"_Leave Edward alone? _Is that all you have to say?" Rose demanded and turned around so she could face Esme completely.

"Rosalie, calm yourself. Edward is confined to his room until your father comes home from work. Leave it to him."

Rose stood there, her eyes flashing angrily.

"I do hope Carlisle will beat the living daylights out of you. It's the least you deserve," she snarled while shooting Edward a murderous look, then stalked from the room, Emmett following behind.

The mood in the house changed noticeable then. Everyone got calmer, less aggressive - Jasper.

He didn't think it would be beneficial to join in the argument that took place in Edward's room. Esme diffused the situation easily enough and so he just soothed the mood now, hoping it would keep his siblings from attacking each other.

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	25. Chapter 25

**The second chapter today! Weeeee!**

** In case you don't like it: patz13 is to blame :-P (Just kidding! You know that, right?)**

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><p>Carlisle was not looking forward to go home that day.<p>

He loved his wife and his children with all his heart, his beautiful house and being able to live inconspicuously in this little town called Forks were additional gifts to his eternal life.

But today ... today was a day that damped his spirits.

It started in the morning when his youngest daughter wouldn't get ready for school. He got a bit antsy - being late was something he detested, for himself and for her.

She had behaved weirdly since the night before when he and Esme caught her and Edward fighting.

But he figured she was just upset about having to clean up her room - she hated that.

Unfortunately, it was something way different.

Something worse.

Before they had reached the school, he noticed that something was wrong with her hand, and he wasn't willing to ignore it. Maddie was still so young and strongly influenced by her human memories, that he wouldn't put it past her to lie about her own injuries.

And he was right.

He pulled duct tape, yes, _duct tape_ off her index finger and saw, that she had obviously tried to tape said finger back onto her hand.

That was such a ridiculous idea that he needed a moment to digest it.

His daughter had _taped_ her finger back onto her hand.

What exactly had happened?

Why did her hand needed to be fixed in the first place?

Who did this to her? She certainly wouldn't rip her finger off herself.

Or was it possible that this was self-mutilating behaviour? Carlisle was worried about his daughter to say the least.

Then he put two and two together: Strange behaviour since the day before ... Edward and Maddie fighting ... she had screamed ... taped finger.

...

If his daughter wouldn't have had to endure such great pain, he would have spanked her right then and there for trying to hide this injury from him and Esme.

Maddie hadn't told _anyone_ - not even Rose or Emmett! Yes, he just assumed she hadn't, because Rose would have told him immediately. She was too concerned about her little sister's well-being that she wouldn't have tried to hide this from him.

He couldn't even be angry while he patched Maddie up, he was just so incredibly disappointed in Edward and was too concerned about her.

She was young and confused and harmed herself severely by keeping her injured hand a secret.

But Edward watched and let it happen.

How could he? They had spend so many years together and Edward had always seemed so responsible and more or less self-controlled ... and yet, he let his little sister walk around hurting. And it even appeared to Carlisle that Edward was the one who injured her.

But ... maybe he wasn't to blame that he had kept it a secret.

Maybe Maddie had _made_ him remain silent about it.

It wouldn't be unlike her to make the wrong choices while panicking.

So here he was, driving home slower than usual, all the while pondering over what he was going to do.

He had called Esme three times that day - to make sure Maddie was doing good, and to tell her he wanted Edward to stay home once he came home from school.

Carlisle was so deep in thought that he didn't even realise that he was already driving down the winding path that let to their house.

Pressing the button for the garage door to open and waiting for a moment, he then steered his car into the garage, where he parked it next to Edward's silver Volvo.

He took a deep breath and loosened his tie, before getting out of his Mercedes.

Carlisle then retrieved his black bag from the trunk and walked up the single flight of stairs and into the kitchen.

Esme greeted him immediately, pressed her lips to his and lingered for a moment longer.

When she pulled away, the look in her eyes seemed sad.

"What is bothering you, my love?" Carlisle asked while letting his hands run up and down his wife's upper arms in a comforting manner. Of course, he knew already what had taken place this morning, but maybe something else had happened on top of everything else.

"Children were arguing. You should have seen Rose, she nearly attacked Edward physically, that's how angry she was."

"Oh dear." He sighed. "Did they fight?" That was the last thing he needed today.

"No, no. I stepped in before it could get out of hand. But she gave him a tongue-lashing, that I am sure of."

"Well then, how is Maddie doing?"

Esme hesitated, but then answered, "She's fine. Just a little upset about what Rosalie said about her."

"What Rosalie said about her? I thought Rose was arguing with Edward?"

"Yes, but Maddie was present. Apparently Rose called her a 'little girl', which irritated Maddie a lot. She feels like nobody is taking her seriously."

"Have you talked to her about it?"

"I have. I think she just needs a moment to get over it. She already knows that Rosalie sees her that way, but she didn't like hearing her say it out loud. Especially not, because Emmett backed her up by calling Maddie 'young and inexperienced'."

Carlisle sighed at that. "I can imagine that she didn't like that."

"There is something else I really need to talk to you about. Maddie didn't tell us about her severed finger, because she thought we would be mad at her," Esme said carefully and waited for her husband's reaction.

"Mad at her? You mean, because we might have thought she got into a fight?" Carlisle didn't quite understand.

"No," Esme replied, "she honestly thought we would be infuriated about her telling us that she was in pain."

Carlisle's eyes popped out of his head. "Are you sure that is what she said? It is quite ... odd."

"Yes, I am. She didn't even know why she thought we would react that way. That's when I urged her to go on telling me what happened yesterday, so she wouldn't get a chance to think about it too much. I do hope the human memories that can be connected to that idea have faded completely. I cannot imagine what had happened to her back then." Esme shook her head lightly while explaining everything to her husband.

"Esme, my love, she is here with us now and we will do everything in our power to make sure she's having a happy childhood. Luckily she has the best and most loving mother any child could ask for, darling."

Esme smiled and was embraced in Carlisle's strong arms. The love of his words radiated through her and made her feel deeply grateful to have such a loving husband and wonderful father to her children.

"What do we do now?" Esme asked and looked up into her husband's caramel-coloured eyes.

Carlisle sighed and let his fingers run through his hair. "Will you take Maddie out today? While I talk to Edward?"

"If you wish to be alone with him, I will take all of them with me," Esme offered.

"I'd really appreciate that. Love, I just don't know what got into that boy. Hurting his little sister and not even telling us about it? He left her alone with her pain, I cannot accept that. And I have disciplined him before for harming a member of this family; so why would he do it again?"

"I haven't talked to him about that yet. I sent him to his room as soon as he came home from school."

"All right. I'm going upstairs now to look in on our youngest. After that you could go to the movies or shopping while I talk to Edward."

"Good. I'll let the others know."

Carlisle made a stop in his and Esme's master bedroom. He changed into more comfortable clothes and took a moment to sit on the bed, close his eyes and just take a couple of deep breaths.

Then it was time.

He swiftly made his way to the top floor and knocked on Maddie's door.

She allowed him to enter and so he did.

Sitting on her bed cross-legged and hugging a big, fluffy pillow to her chest to rest her head on, she looked up when Carlisle walked towards her.

"Hey Daddy," she said softly, feeling uneasy about what he was going to do now.

"Hello, honey," he replied, ruffled her hair softly and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Let me see your hand. Does it still hurt?"

She held it out for him to see and said, "It's healed, you can take the bandage off now."

Carlisle sighed. "Sweetie, is that true? You don't feel anything anymore, or are you just tired of having a bandage around your hand?"

She smirked - he got her there. "Okay, it's throbbing a little, but it really is just a little."

"I'll go get my bag and then I will put a new bandage on, a lighter one. Is that all right with you?"

She made a face, but then nodded her head. He would do it one way or the other, so there was really no use in protesting.

He was back in a minute and carried his black bag into the room, putting it on the bed next to where he seated himself.

Maddie scooted closer to the edge of the bed, so her father would have an easier access to her hand and she could swing her legs back and forth while he fixed her up.

Carefully removing the white gauze, he took her hand in his to look the wound over. It still looked like a cut that ran all around the base of her finger, but it was healing all right. He didn't want to press down on her finger to check if the bone had yet mended, but it was definitely better.

So he applied a new bandage, then looked up.

"That is better, isn't it?" he asked her.

But Maddie pouted. "When can I take it off?"

"_I_ will take it off tomorrow," he corrected and answered in the same phrase. He put all the utensils he had just used back into his bag, shut it and then turned to face his daughter once more.

"Now, can you tell me something?"

"What?" She bit her lip.

"Why did neither you nor Edward tell us about your hand? I really want to understand, sweetie."

"Because I didn't want you to know. I thought I could take care of it myself," Maddie explained.

"You haven't _kept_ your brother from telling us, am I right?"

"You think badly of me, Dad," she remarked. Then she muttered, with a sarcastic undertone detectable, "Thanks."

"I am not accusing you of anything, dear, I am merely asking you a question that I would like to have an answer to."

"Well, what do you think?" she challenged.

Carlisle just sighed. "Madeline, please, it is a simple question."

She rolled her eyes, then answered, "I didn't _keep_ him from telling you. I just asked him not to tell you."

"I value your honesty," he replied and hugged her tightly. "Now, how would you like to spend the evening with your mother and siblings? Maybe a visit to the movies? Or some shopping? Whatever you like, princess."

Maddie stared at him, dumbfounded. "Huh?" was all she managed to say.

"I would like to talk to Edward about what happened. Therefore I would appreciate you spending some time away from home for a while."

Maddie didn't want to ask, but she had to. "What about me?" She was in trouble, too, right?

Carlisle saw that asking this question made his daughter uneasy - she played with the hem of her shirt and didn't look up.

"You and I will talk later. But don't concern yourself with this, I want you to loosen up and have some fun now. Can you do that for me?"

He put his index finger under her chin and lightly pushed her head up until she was looking at him.

The warm smile he gave her made her smile, too.

She hugged him and let her head rest in the crook of her father's neck. He immediately put his hand up on the back of her head and stroked her hair.

When Maddie pulled away, she looked more at ease.

"Do you talk to Edward _now_?"

"Yes, as soon as you all have left the house," Carlisle confirmed.

"Okay." Maddie stood up and walked over to her desk chair, where she found the black leather jacket that she loved so dearly.

She put it on - it was easier with this lighter bandage - and turned back around, chewing on her lip once more.

"Don't be mean to him, okay? He didn't know what he did was wrong."

Carlisle frowned. "Why are you saying this, honey?"

"Well ... I mean, you said it was wrong not to come to you immediately because I was hurt. You said next time I'm in trouble if I don't see you straightaway. But Edward couldn't have known."

This girl had some logic. She figured that just because he had told her today that she must find him when she is hurt and she hadn't known before that, that Edward couldn't have know either. Maddie always forgot that the rest of her family was older than her, more experienced. And she obviously didn't know that her dear brother had already some experience with severed extremities, seeing that Edward once ripped Emmett's arm off in a fit of anger.

"Your mother is waiting, dear. Why don't you go downstairs and find her?"

Maddie noticed that he didn't comment on what she just said about Edward.

The look she gave her father was skeptical, but then she shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay. Bye Daddy!" she exclaimed, hugged him real quick and skipped from her room and down the stairs.

Carlisle sat on his daughter's bed for a while longer, trying to collect his thoughts and waiting for his wife and children to leave the house.

The roar of Emmett's jeep a moment later indicated that he and Edward were alone now.

So Carlisle stood up - determined not to waste any time.

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	26. Chapter 26

**I'm as busy as a bee! Here is the next chapter, yaaay!**

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><p>Before Carlisle could knock on Edward's door, he heard an audible 'Come in' from the other side of the door.<p>

So he stepped into his son's room, closed the door behind himself and faced him.

"I'm sorry." Edward murmured instantly and looked down at his folded hands.

"Maybe we should go over what happened first before you ask to be forgiven," Carlisle suggested and sat next to Edward on the couch.

He turned slightly so he could have a better look at his son, who looked tense and very sorry for himself.

"Can we talk now or do you need a moment to collect yourself?" he asked. He would grant his son some time; it's been a while since Edward had been in trouble, after all.

"We can talk now."

"Good. Then start explaining, please. From the beginning ... which was yesterday, am I right?"

"Yes." Edward cleared his throat, then started to explain. "Yesterday evening, Maddie came to me and asked me if she could borrow a CD. She couldn't find hers in her room, even though she had been looking everywhere."

Carlisle remembered just how messy his daughter's room had looked like the night before. "I have seen her room, yes. Please continue."

"I allowed her to borrow mine," Edward said carefully.

"That was very generous of you," Carlisle commented. "What happened next?"

"We started arguing. Then I changed my mind and told her to hand the CD back to me. She didn't want to, so I grabbed it and we both held onto it. When I had had enough I just took it from her ... and ripped her finger off in the process. She screamed and you came up the stairs."

Carlisle pointed lazily at a spot on the floor a couple of feet away. "That stain over there - is that venom?"

"It is. That is where her finger had landed after I dropped it," Edward admitted nervously, eyeing the little black stain on his otherwise cream-coloured carpet - it looked burnt.

"Why didn't I notice yesterday?"

"I covered it by standing on that spot. We didn't want you to see."

"Where did you put her finger?" Carlisle queried, his voice strict as if warning his son to not tell him any lies now.

"Maddie had picked it up and stuffed it into the back pocket of her jeans."

"So her trousers are ruined, too?" The list surely became longer and longer.

"I think so. But I have no idea where she put them. Probably hidden some place where Esme wouldn't find them."

Carlisle nodded his head. He wouldn't put it past his youngest daughter to do just that.

"Why was her hand scratched? Did it happen just like you told me yesterday?"

"She did it herself," Edward uttered. "We could smell the venom and so Maddie figured you would smell it, too. The scratch was a good explanation and that way she could divert your attention from the fact that she was hiding her other hand."

Panic obviously triggered his daughter's brain-storming abilities. How did she do all that in the short time frame between screaming and him rushing into the room? He shook his head in disbelief, then addressed his son again. "Now, tell me why you two chose to lie to Esme and I."

"Maddie was panicking, I guess. I was, too. So we just tried to hide what happened the best we could. I told her at a later time that she should go find you because her hand didn't look too good, but she refused."

"You were aware of the fact that she was suffering pain?"

"Yes, Sir," Edward admitted shamefaced. "_But what was I to do?_ She didn't want me to tell!"

"Do you think you made the right decision by following her request? She is young and has _no experience whatsoever_ with severed extremities. She didn't know how to properly clean the wound or how to bandage it. Needless to say that she just made it worse and therefore was hurting a lot longer than she would have if someone had told me."

"No Sir, I should have come to you immediately, I know that now. But I really did not know that she was feeling even worse this morning. She told me to stay out of her head, and so I did. I felt guilty and I still feel guilty and therefore tried to make it up to her that way."

Edward sounded sincere; Carlisle knew that his son meant what he said.

But then he frowned, remembering something. "I don't understand why you argued in the first place. Care to enlighten me?"

"Well, she couldn't find her CD ... because I took it a couple of weeks ago."

"So you didn't ask her if she would lend you said CD?"

Edward drew a deep breath, then elaborated. "No. She destroyed mine so I concluded it was my right to take hers in compensation for my broken one."

"You have made no mention before that she broke your CD, Edward."

"Well ... she didn't exactly break it on purpose. It fell to the floor when she was sitting at her desk. She bent down to pick it up without looking. So she didn't quite catch it and scratched the surface, effectively ruining it," Edward explained meekly.

"I don't understand why you took hers then. Didn't she apologise?" He had taught his daughter manners, or more precisely: The Denalis beat him to it and taught his daughter manners, but he, of course, continued to remind her of these.

"She did," Edward confessed after some hesitation.

Carlisle stared at him, dumbfounded. "I am not following, son."

"It should have been her duty to get me a new one, but she didn't do it," Edward replied, all of a sudden the perfect image of a petulant child.

Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose - he was a little bit irritated now. "You have at least four debit cards and another three credit cards in your wallet. Why didn't you just buy a new one?"

"That's what Maddie asked," he murmured in response to his father's question.

"And what was your answer?"

"I told her that she needed to learn to treat other people's belongings more carefully. That's why I took her CD."

"I appreciate your concern about you sister's manners, but since when are you responsible for parenting her?" Carlisle queried exasperatedly.

"But my CD was ruined!" Edward's voice grew louder. _Why didn't his father see reason?_

"And then you steal from her?"

"It wasn't exactly stealing, was it?" Edward tried to reason.

"Edward, I cannot _believe_ what you just said! Wasn't it just mere days ago when _you_ told Jasper that Madeline had been stealing at school? She took something that wasn't hers?"

Edward huffed. "That was different."

"Yes, it was. Maddie's classmate destroyed her homework on purpose, whereas Maddie scratching your CD was an accident."

Edward looked like a child that got caught with his hands in the cookie jar at that rebuke. Busted!

Carlisle did not expect him to say anything else, so he just went on.

"Now ... let me sum up your misdeeds: You stole your sister's CD, then you hurt her, lied to your mother and I, did not inform us of Madeline's severed finger and let her walk around in pain, then you lied to me _again_ this morning. Anything else I need to add? You would do well to tell the truth."

Edward hung his head. "No, Sir. That is all."

Then Carlisle sighed. "What has gotten into you, Edward? Lying is so unlike you, why did you do it?"

Edward squirmed a bit under his father's gaze, but decided he should not feed him anymore lies. "Well, Maddie is good at lying so I decided to go along. I knew I would be in trouble if you found out that I injured her."

"I do realise that it was an accident. So if you would have come to me straightaway, you wouldn't be in trouble. Maybe just a brief grounding because you wrenched the CD from her hands, which may be considered as fighting. But the fact that you tried to hide the injury from me, which was a grossly negligent conduct, makes it impossible for me to ignore. Due to her lack of experience you couldn't possibly rely on her decision-making ability. You were responsible for her well-being then, but you failed her. That makes it just as grave as if you had intentionally taken her finger off."

Edward gulped audibly. "Yes, Sir."

"Do you remember what I told you last time you hurt somebody deliberately?"

That did not look good for Edward. He gulped again. "Yes, Sir."

"Tell me," Carlisle prompted.

"You said I would get a hiding that would outshine the last one I got." He looked up, his eyes were wide all of a sudden. "It was an accident, Carlisle! I didn't mean to hurt her, just take the CD from her!"

"You got rough with your sister when she wouldn't comply. Edward, it is important that you learn to control your temper! What's going to happen next time she makes you angry? Can I trust you not to hurt her again?"

"I told you that I'm sorry! What else do you want to hear, huh?" _Well, Hellooo Edward's temper!_

"You would do well to sit down again! That outburst was more than just uncalled for!" Carlisle reproved strictly.

When Edward reluctantly sat back down, Carlisle went on.

"I have another question for you. Please answer honestly."

Edward didn't look up at his father, but he gave him a curt nod.

"Do you know the reason why Madeline panicked and tried to hide her injury?"

"She thought otherwise I would tell you that she swore at me."

"Is that true?" Carlisle frowned. He thought Edward would know something different.

"Yes! She thought about you being mad at her. I figured it was because of that," Edward explained, but his facial expression suddenly held confusion.

"You didn't pick up anything else? Are you sure?" The scepticism in Carlisle's voice made his son uneasy.

"No! Dad, I am being honest with you! I was anxious myself, so I was listening for your thoughts when you came up the stairs! What's going on? Is she all right?"

"Yes, she is, son. No need to worry," Carlisle reassured, then sat up straighter. It was time to address the punishment.

"Now, to your punishment: I think a spanking would be adequate for your lying and not taking care of your sister. In addition: no music for the next two weeks, because you stole Maddie's CD. Oh, I count playing the piano as music, too, young man."

Edward's face fell. The additional punishment hurt Edward more than any whipping could. Not being able to play his beloved piano and no music in general was like going cold turkey.

"Dad, isn't that a bit harsh?"

Carlisle squinted at his son. "Oh, do you think? So stealing from your sister is all right in your world? It certainly isn't in mine."

"No, you are right," Edward groaned in defeat.

"Do you accept your punishment?"

"Yes, Sir." Well, what else could he do?

"Then unfasten your trousers, son, and bend over my lap," Carlisle ordered and started to roll up his sleeves.

Edward was frozen in terror. "Your lap? No, no, no."

"You just said you would accept your punishment. Now do as I say, please," Carlisle replied without looking up.

"But Dad! I am not a child!"

Now Carlisle looked up and asked, "You don't consider any of your actions childish, no?"

"I admit that what I did was wrong, and I cannot apologise enough, but _please!_ Can't I just bent over the desk?" he tried desperately to change his father's mind. Getting spanked while lying over somebody's lap was a punishment for girls and children, but definitely not for a grown man like him!

"No." Was Carlisle's curt answer.

Edward did not look like he was going to comply.

"Edward, when I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it. Now come here."

"Please ... not like this. You let Emmett bend over the desk."

"I am not discussing this with you. Will you come here now of your own accord, or do I have to come and get you?" Carlisle asked with raised eyebrows, "Trust me, I will do it, but you will not like the outcome."

Edward folded his arms and looked away.

"Don't make such a fuss! You are really trying my patience right now," Carlisle warned with narrowed eyes.

"I don't see why it has to be this way! I won't submit until you change your mind about it!" Edward demanded, sounding braver than he actually felt.

That was the last straw. Carlisle just about had it with his petulant son, so he dashed forward, grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him forward until he was standing right before him.

Even though Edward struggled, Carlisle managed to unbutton his son's trousers.

"No, stop! I'll do it!" So ... Edward's petulance was obviously gone; now he just tried to diffuse the situation, for his butt's sake, of course.

"It's too late for that now, Edward," his father replied and pushed Edward's trousers down to pool at his ankles.

With a quick pull, Edward was suddenly lying over his father's knees.

"Can I trust you to lie still and not try to run? We'll be done much quicker if you behave."

"Yes, Sir," Edward answered. His face would have turned beet-red by now ... but it couldn't, so he was as pale as usual, but with a healthy portion of embarrassment detectable.

Carlisle had waited for Edward to answer, before he pulled his boxer-shorts down to meet his trousers around his ankles.

Now that brought a new round of struggling and complaining.

"Carlisle - Dad, please! It was an accident, I didn't mean to hurt her!"

"Oh, my dear boy, your spanking will be on the bare due to your obstinacy just now. So there is no need to complain to me about it," Carlisle explained to him.

And then, it began.

Carlisle quickly covered Edward's bottom with sharp slaps, all the while having a tight grip on his waist to keep him from fleeing.

Edward squirmed and struggled to get off his father's lap - it's been a while since he was in a position like this, and it was definitely worse than what he remembered.

"Hold still, will you? You brought it on yourself," Carlisle rebuked, never stopping his rhythm.

So Edward settled for putting his head into his folded arms and clenching his teeth, hoping it would be over soon.

But a particularly vicious smack to the undercurve of his behind made him shout out and kick his legs.

That was no unusual behaviour for Edward while being walloped. Carlisle just pinned Edward's legs down with his right one to hinder him from kicking out once more.

Theatrical as Edward was, he now wailed loudly with every slap. But that was all right, they were nearly done anyways. And so Carlisle pushed him forward to gain better access to his son's sit-spots.

Eight well-aimed smacks to that sensitive area and it was over.

The punishment Carlisle had doled out was appropriate, so he did not feel overly guilty for having to chastise his son. He started to rub his back in a comforting manner and succeeded in calming him some.

When Edward's movement indicated that he was ready to stand up, Carlisle pulled his shorts back over his punished behind. Edward hissed; he never would have thought that cotton could be so rough!

They stood up together. Carlisle waited for Edward to pull up his jeans and buttoning it, before he hugged and squeezed him.

"I've got you son, shh, you're all right. It's forgiven," he cooed. His father's words were incredibly comforting to Edward and his crying turned into sniffling.

"I'm sorry," Edward said and sounded pitiful.

"I know you are, Edward, calm yourself. You're forgiven. But please try to control your temper. I would hate disciplining you again for breaking your siblings body parts off."

"I will take good care not to let it happen again, Dad. I promise!" Edward exclaimed wide-eyed.

Carlisle gave him a smile and ruffled his son's unruly hair. "I am glad to hear that, Edward."

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><p><strong>Good? Bad?<strong>

**Was Carlisle too harsh? But you have to keep in mind that Edward is a stupid dickhead, kay? I think that changes EVERYthing :-D**

**REVIEW! Cause reviews make me happy ... and when I'm happy, I update the next chapter which is actually already finished *g* (Just need to proof-read once more.)**


	27. Chapter 27

**:-)**

**This chapter here actually wasn't planned ... but then I was in the mood for writing what came to my mind and this is the result! **

**Sounds kind of stupid actually ... I always write what comes to my mind, duh.**

** Just go ahead and read, haha!**

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><p>"Uh, that one!" Maddie pointed to a big, off-white picture frame. It had little ornaments carved decoratively into the wood before it got painted and Maddie thought it would look awesome on the wall of the second floor. Esme liked the contrast between their modern interior mixed with little antique items - like picture frames. So this one would be perfect.<p>

"You like that one? The white one?" Esme asked her daughter, who seemed quite bubbly all of a sudden.

As soon as they had seated themselves in the car, Maddie had asked Esme if they could buy the new frames today. New ones, because she and Emmett had destroyed some things in the house while fighting with streamer spray. Actually, they still didn't know who won. Maybe they should have another fight soon ... but this time: Not at home! Definitely not at home!

"Yep." Maddie nodded her head and looked up at her mother, who patted her hair and smiled consent.

"Righto!" Emmett exclaimed and picked it up.

It was the second frame already, so they were ready to pay now and leave the little corner shop that sold them.

"Where do we go next?" Emmett asked and placed the new picture frames into the trunk of his car.

"New jeans!" Alice shouted.

"Why would we need new clothes, Alice?" Esme frowned. Well, Alice loved shopping dearly, everybody knew that, but why now?

"Maddie's finger ruined her beautiful pale denim slacks, so we need to get a new pair," Alice told Esme without taking her eyes off Maddie.

"I didn't know venom leaves such nasty stains, Alice," Maddie said apologetically, bottom lip protruding.

"I know, don't worry. We'll just get new ones for you ... and then you're forgiven," Alice promised and patted her sister on the cheek.

"Ok ...," Maddie sighed. She wasn't in the mood for arguing; she did ruin the trousers her sister had picked out for her after all. So she kinda owed Alice the fun of picking out new ones for her.

"I haven't seen a pair of jeans with stains this morning. Where did you put it, Maddie?" Esme picked up Maddie's laundry every day from wherever she let it fall to the floor in her room, but she had not seen a pair of jeans.

"Hid 'em," Maddie murmured.

"Why do you even ask ...," Jasper commented dryly and walked past them towards the car.

Maddie poked her tongue out at her brother, who suddenly turned around and glared at her, mumbling something she couldn't make out. Did he have eyes in the back of his head? _Freak._

When they were back in the car, Rosalie addressed Maddie. "Are you comfortable?" she crooned. She was sitting at the window, right behind Emmett, who drove the car. It was his, after all. Alice and Maddie both sat in the middle and Esme had seated herself right behind Jasper.

Since Maddie had not been willing to be too close to Rosalie, Alice had quickly taken the seat between the two of them.

"How can I? I don't have a child's safety seat," Maddie snapped at her blonde sister, not deigning to look at her.

"Mad, don't give her any ideas!" Emmett laughed and immediately earned himself a slap to the back of his head by his wife.

"Rose! Don't hit the driver!" he complained and rubbed the spot where she had hit him.

"No fighting today! We want to have fun, don't we?" Esme asked.

They all nodded their heads.

Rosalie shot Maddie worried sideways glances all the way to the next store where they would buy new clothes. She didn't want her sister to bear grudges against her, but Maddie was clearly still upset. Whenever Rose stood next to her and made to put her hand on Maddie's shoulder or tuck a strand of hair behind Maddie's ear, Maddie ducked away and walked over to Esme.

That was, until Rose had had enough.

"_Stop this nonsense, will you?_" she called angrily when Maddie made to walk away from her again.

Esme wanted to take a step closer towards her two daughters and diffuse the situation, but Alice held her back. She smiled up at Esme and winked. Her mother did get that hint and remained standing where she was.

"What?" Maddie asked in an angelic voice.

"I just called you a little girl to make Edward feel bad, all right?" she huffed.

Maddie tilted her head to the side and kept on staring at her sister, unblinking.

"It wasn't meant to offend you, but to make him feel guilty for hurting you! And now stop these antics _at once_!" Rose rebuked.

Maddie looked at her with wide eyes, her voice soft. "Really? So you didn't mean it?"

"No. Now come here."

The funny thing was: Both knew it was a lie. Maddie was aware that Rose was solicitous about her and actually thought of her as a child.

And Rose did mean what she said; Maddie was a little girl to her and she had wanted for Edward to see her as such, too. That way he would be more careful with her, wouldn't he?

But somehow, that was enough heart-to-heart conversation for these two about that matter.

They hugged, Rose gave her a peck on the cheek, whispered something in her ear and they were reconciled.

It was as simple as that.

Emmett cheered and dashed towards them, engulfing both in a tight big bear hug.

"Hey! I didn't forgive _you_, Em!" Maddie snubbed, desperately trying to suppress a laugh when she saw the look on his face.

"Oh," he replied and straightened up, looking pensive. "How about we play some video games later and I'll let you win?"

Maddie burst out laughing. "I'll win one way or the other, but ... all right! It's on!"

Esme heaved a sigh of relief. Finally they made up ... even though the way they did seemed quite odd. Rose had yelled at her and Emmett offered to play with her, and that was enough for Maddie to forgive them?

Well, the restored harmony between them made the shopping trip more relaxed and fun. Maddie was at ease, she smiled and laughed, her eyes were bright with excitement even though Alice made her try on a million pairs of slacks.

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><p>Back home, the first thing Esme did was hurry up the stairs to see Edward. She felt bad for her baby boy, he got shouted at by his angry sister and older brother, then he had gotten punishment by his father while his siblings were out having fun.<p>

Edward was a very sensitive boy and that was why Esme couldn't wait any longer to hold him tight and console him. She knew he needed the comfort and she was more than willing to offer it to him.

Reaching the top floor, she immediately heard a hesitant, "Mama?"

Picking up her pace, she opened her son's door and walked in. He sat curled up on his couch, looking up at her.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm here!" she cooed and sat next to him, already hugging him to herself.

She patted his unruly, auburn hair and rocked him lightly.

"Has your father been too harsh? Are you hurt, dear?" Esme asked, her voice held concern. She knew Carlisle would never be violent towards their children; still, she wanted for Edward to be honest to her about his punishment.

"He put a ban on playing the piano for the next two weeks." Edward moaned.

Esme pulled away. "He did?"

"Yes, and he forbade me from listening to any music for the same duration." He looked up at his mother with sad eyes.

She sighed. "I understand that must be very hard for you. But two weeks aren't that long, Edward. It'll be over in no time."

He hesitated, before carefully asking, "Can't you talk to him?"

Esme shook her head. "No, Edward. I will not change your father's mind. Lying and fighting is wrong, you knew what to expect."

Edward sighed and nodded his head.

"Mama?" he then asked in a small voice.

"Yes, darling?"

"I also stole something," he admitted.

She sat up straighter now and cleared her throat before speaking again. "You stole something? From whom? When?"

"The CD Maddie and I fought about ... it was hers. I took it a while ago without telling her."

"Oh, Edward! Does your father know?" Esme was suddenly getting upset with her beloved son. _How could he do that?_

"Yes, he does."

"And you really don't think you deserve your punishment then?"

"I guess I do deserve it," he murmured, averting his eyes.

Esme hugged him once more. "Come now, it is forgiven, there is no need to mention it again."

Edward nodded his head in response and let his head rest on his mother's shoulder, enjoying her presence and having her all to himself for a while.

After a couple of minutes he abruptly pulled away and asked, "What about Maddie?"

Esme frowned. "Well, what about Maddie?"

"Carlisle said, he would talk to her, too. What does that mean? I didn't understand his thoughts."

"Well, dear, you know your father. It is important that your sister comprehends what we told her before, he just wants to make sure she does," she responded and gave his arm a gentle rub. "Let us go downstairs. I know that Emmett and Maddie are planning on playing video games. Maybe you would like to join them?"

"Sure," he replied and stood up together with his mother.

Playing some games now would help him take his mind off the bad day he was having so far.

Downstairs in the living room, he seated himself next to Maddie, who was occupying the couch whereas Emmett had spread himself out on the carpet.

The moment Maddie noticed Edward, she pressed pause and asked with a sympathetic look on her face, "You all right?"

"Yes, I am fine," he replied and tried to find a more comfortable sitting position.

Emmett took in a sharp breath. "I feel for you, bro. Had the same 'fun' a couple of days ago. Pops still has that mean swing."

"Well, he had enough practice on my butt," Maddie threw in and made a face.

Emmett reached back over his shoulder and patted Maddie's knee. "I know, Tiny, I know. I feel for you, too."

"Good," Maddie replied, pressed play and bashed Emmett's character in the face with a battleaxe.

"Ha, I won!" she cheered and prodded him lightly in the back with her foot. "See?"

"Hey, that wasn't fair, you know!" Emmett accused with furrowed brow.

"Sue me." She giggled, then said, "It's Edward's turn to get his ass kicked now. Why don't you give him your controller, Emmy?"

He grumbled, but handed it to Edward, who took it with a smirk before asking, "Are you sure you can play with your hand?"

"Sure, you just saw it, didn't you? I mostly use my thumb." She held up her bandaged hand and wiggled her thumb to show him.

"Very well, then I don't need to hold back while clobbering you character."

She nudged him in the arm. "You wish."

An hour full of squealing, laughing and moaning later, Carlisle set foot in the room and called for Maddie.

She turned around and looked over the backrest of the couch at him.

"Madeline, if you'd care to follow me. We need to talk."

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><p><strong> What do you think Carlisle will do?<strong>

**Btw: I am really surprised that we have already reached 136 reviews! It's getting closer to 200 every single day ... awesom-o!**

** Keep 'em coming ... ****REVIEW!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Well, HELLO!**

** I wanna answer some reviews first ...**

**Katie: Maddie had already forgiven Rose. She just wanted to get a rise out of her until she would snap ... just for the fun of it ;-) And a little revenge maybe. But it is very possible that they'll argue again if Rose calls her a child or the like!**

**And I cannot promise to make Esme tell Maddie about her past. They are very careful with her, and therefore I don't think they would confront her with topics such as abuse or suicide. Maybe later. **

**And telling Maddie that her baby died might put additional pressure on Maddie. I'll try to update my other story soon, it hopefully will explain some things.**

**patz13: Hm, questions about me ... you could make it your wish when we reach 200, haha! Nah, I'm 23 =) **

**Good ... where was I? Oh yeah ... READ!**

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><p>Maddie seemed to be a little bit uneasy. She looked over at Edward who slightly shrugged his shoulders.<p>

Okay, great, so he was no help.

She turned her gaze back at her father and stood up. Trudging over to him, he placed a hand on her back and guided her up the stairs.

"In here, Madeline," he pointed towards his and Esme's bedroom.

That was peculiar - she had never gotten a spanking in there before. She gave him a puzzled look, but he just nodded.

Her mother sat on the big bed and motioned for Maddie to come closer the moment she peeked into the room.

That was peculiar, too - her Mom would never _ever_ be at home when she got spanked, much less be in the same room!

"Come," she said and waited for her daughter to walk over to her.

Esme took Maddie by the hand and pulled her up on the bed, then smoothed her dark hair lovingly back over her shoulder and looked up at her husband, who closed the door behind himself and approached them.

Sitting next to his daughter, he folded his hands in his lap and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Madeline," he said.

Maddie changed from nervous to slightly annoyed. Or better yet: The nervousness remained and annoyance joined in.

She was acquainted with her name, so could he please just hurry up and come straight to the point? She had a match to win, after all.

"Uh-huh?" she asked and bit her lip.

"I think it would be beneficial if we'd discuss what happened," Carlisle said.

"But we already talked about it," Maddie replied in an almost whine.

"Please explain to me why you acted the way you did," he prompted, seemingly ignoring what she just said.

"No," she said softly.

"No?" Carlisle repeated, eyebrows raised.

I don't wanna talk anymore," she responded and focused on the strand of hair she was rolling between her fingers.

"Madeline, this is important," Carlisle urged and pulled the strand of hair she was playing with out of her hand and tucked it behind her ear.

Maddie let her now empty hands drop to her lap and looked up at her father. "But you know what happened, Mom knows what happened and I bet Edward told you everything right down to the last detail!"

"Madeline," he sighed. "I would like to understand your motivation for lying to us about your hand."

Maddie rolled her eyes at that. "Easy: I didn't want you to know." She then stood up and asked, "Can I go now?"

"No, honey, sit back down please," Esme said and gently grasped her daughter's forearm to guide her back onto the bed.

Maddie pushed her bottom lip forward, but complied.

"Darling, you didn't do anything wrong. It was an accident and accidents happen. That is why we don't understand why you did not show us your injury straightaway. There was no need to hide it from us and there certainly was no need to walk around hurting," Carlisle explained and waited for Maddie to give him a proper answer.

Esme and Carlisle had argued about this talk for quite a while. Esme thought it would be better to not remind Maddie of the memory she must have had to react that way and just let her forget, whereas Carlisle thought it would be better for his daughter to talk about what she remembered and what confused her about it. In the end Esme had caved in, because she figured Maddie probably wouldn't talk about it if she did not want to. And it seemed that she would be proved right.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"Come, sweetie, answer the question," Esme tried to encourage her. She wanted to support her husband, because he meant well and Maddie would indeed benefit from opening up about her memory.

Maddie squirmed a bit. "I don't wanna talk anymore. I wanna play with Emmett."

Her parents looked concerned.

She didn't understand why, but she figured she would be able to leave this room sooner if she just answered.

"Okay ... I don't know." Take it or leave it.

Esme spoke up. "Maddie, dear, we just want you to know that we will always be there for you."

"I know." She nodded her head ... then felt uneasy again because of the heavy silence.

Not feeling comfortable due to the tense atmosphere, she made to get up again, but her father's hand on her shoulder stopped her immediately.

"Never be afraid to tell us when something upsets you," he said in a soft voice.

"Okay."

"And please: There was no need to suffer for so long. We would never be angry at you for being hurt. Do you understand that?" Carlisle asked.

Maddie noticed the look her parents gave each other, and then she knew what he was getting at.

"Uh-huh," she answered and hoped they would just drop it.

"Madeline, your hand would be completely healed by now if we would have known that you were injured."

"Okay," she replied.

"Is there something bothering you?" Esme asked, frowning. Her daughter's answers sounded unusually emotionless - it unsettled her.

_Yep, parents who wanted to talk about stuff she didn't want to talk about! _"No."

Heavy silence again.

Maddie grew agitated. What the hell was wrong with her parents? Normally they left her alone when she didn't want to talk about certain things.

She huffed. "Okay ... do I get walloped now or can I leave?"

Her parents raised their eyebrows at that.

Carlisle frowned and asked, "Why do you think you would get disciplined?"

"Edward had trouble sitting," Maddie stated matter-of-factly.

"We are talking about _you_ now, not about your brother. And to be honest: You just hurt yourself with what you did."

"So ... ?" she asked and motioned with her hand for him to go on.

"We think you have been punished enough by yourself, so no further punishment is necessary. Now you know that hiding an injury is wrong, don't you?"

"Awesome, thanks!" Maddie exclaimed after hearing that she wouldn't get punished and jumped up. Yeah, she had stopped listening after that.

She quickly turned around, hugged both her parents at the same time and gave each a quick peck on the cheek.

Then she ran from the room.

Esme and Carlisle just stared at each other, more than just surprised about the sudden change in behaviour.

"Wh-what was that?" Esme managed to say before starting to laugh. Carlisle joined in.

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><p>"What happened?" Emmett stopped the game and turned around to watch his little sister walk into the room; his eyes held concern.<p>

"Talked," she replied casually.

"... and?"

"And nothing," Maddie said while sitting down next to Emmett on the floor.

"Good job," Emmett replied with a smile and ruffled Maddie's hair.

"Wanna play?" he offered his controller to her, so she could play against Edward.

"Nah, I'll just watch for now," she replied, her voice softer than usual.

Emmett looked at her a moment longer than necessary, then patted her back in a comforting manner before continuing to play.

Maddie leaned her head against his arm while letting her hand rest in the crook of his arm to hold onto.

Emmett pulled away - only to put his arm around his little sister's shoulders and pulling her closer to himself, never stopping his game.

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><p><strong>Now we can leave the Edward-is-a-jerk-for-ripping-Maddie's finger-off-part of the story behind us and can start on a new chapter! :-D I just figured Carlisle would want to talk to Maddie about everything, since they didn't actually get the chance to earlier ... but now we have covered that. I didn't really want to write that talk, maybe that's why Maddie seems a bit annoyed, hahaha.<strong>

** Now ...**

**Uh, Idea! **

**Guess what the next chapter will be about! Yaaay, do that! Have a guess, you guys! **

**There is a little hint ... somewhere in one of the chapters (but not in this one here) ... you'll get an extra wish if you guess right! I am sooo curious about what you think ;-)**

** Oh, and don't forget to REVIEW!**


	29. Chapter 29

**The hint could be found in the first chapter! :-D**

**And I added a flashback, weee! I like flashbacks a lot, hopefully you do, too!**

**I enjoyed writing this chapter so much, so please let me know what you think ... uhm, after you read it *g***

**Have fun!**

* * *

><p>"Mom, please!" Maddie whined with her arms outstretched over the kitchen counter and hands folded, begging.<p>

It was Tuesday afternoon and she had already forgotten about the awkward talk with her parents that she had to endure a week ago. Everything was back to normal again and therefore Maddie felt comfortable enough to annoy her mother until she would cave in; she had done that for days now with no end in sight.

"No Madeline. I told you several times already that you are _not_ getting one," Esme replied strictly. She was cleaning the stove top, whatever for, and stopped in between to answer her daughter.

Maddie huffed. "You are being so unfair!" she shouted, turned her back on her mother and leaned against the edge of the counter again, crossing her arms over her chest.

"This has nothing to do with me being fair or unfair, Madeline," Esme corrected.

Maddie just shot her mother a glare over her shoulder and continued to pout.

Esme put the cleaning supplies into the cupboard under the stainless steal kitchen sink, washed her hands an dried them. Then she walked over to her daughter and put an arm around her shoulders. "You know animals feel uncomfortable in our presence. It would be cruel of us to let you have one," she explained, her voice held its usual softness.

Maddie uncrossed her arms and took a step away from the counter, only to turn sideways to face Esme properly. "Oh come on, not all of them are scared of us! What about ... dogs? Can I have one?" Maddie asked with bright, hopeful eyes.

"No." Esme was back to being strict again.

"Ew, dogs smell," Alice threw in. She sat curled up on one of the armchairs in the living room, ten different fashion magazines - fresh from the press - spread out on the coffee table in front of her. She was obviously preparing for her next shopping trip - Heaven forbid if she missed anything.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "So? We can wash 'em."

"That makes it worse, Maddie. Wet dog smell is gross." Alice scrunched up her nose and writhed with disgust.

Maddie gave her sister a scowl. "Can you just shut it? You're not helping," she said, annoyance clearly showing. Alice let out a little giggle and continued to flip through the pages in search of the perfect handbag ... or the prettiest ... whatever.

"Madeline, I won't buy you a pet. And this discussion is over. Your constant nagging will not change anything." Normally Esme wasn't very severe with her youngest daughter, but Maddie had to learn that 'No' meant 'No' and that she wouldn't change her mind.

Emmett came in from the garage, obviously having overheard part of the discussion. "You wanna have a pet? I can give you my old tamagotchi, if you'd like. I forgot to feed it and it died," he said with a sheepish look on his face.

Angry that nobody agreed to let her have a pet, Maddie threw her hands in the air and groaned. "Argh, forget it."

Then she stomped noisily up the stairs and into her room.

She was frustrated beyond belief.

No pet.

Seriously?

Why couldn't she have one? Most of the girls in her class had pets, some of them had even more than just one or two.

She plonked herself down on her bed and pondered over her further course of action. She rolled over onto her stomach and reached her hand out to pick up her cell phone, which was resting on the bedside table.

A moment later, she speed-dialed her Dad's number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello sweetie, are you all right?" Carlisle asked. His daughter never called him at work, so he was immediately worried when her number appeared on the display of his mobile.

"Daddy...," she whined the moment she heard his voice on the other end of the line.

"Oh, what is it? Tell me."

"I'm sad, Daddy," she told him, trying to sound as miserable as she could muster.

"And why is that, princess?"

"Mom yelled at me," she whispered, sounding utterly distraught.

Maddie could practically see him frowning on the other end. "I'm sure that was a misunderstanding. That would be so unlike your mother. What happened?"

"I just asked her a random question and she flipped." That was more or less the truth, wasn't it?

Maddie smirked and hoped her father wouldn't detect it in her voice.

Carlisle sighed. "Maddie, I'll be home in little more than an hour. How about we talk then and clear up matters?"

"No, now," she demanded petulantly.

"I have to work right now, you know that," he reminded her, but then queried, "Is Rosalie home?"

"Yes, she is."

"All right. Why don't you go hunting with Rosie, and when you get back, I'll be home. Then we can talk. Sounds good?"

She sighed in defeat. "Okay."

"I love you, sweetie. See you soon."

"Love you too, Daddy. Bye," she told him weakly and hung up.

* * *

><p>Two hours later, Rose and Maddie came home from an uneventful hunt. Carlisle's shiny black Mercedes was parked in front of the house, so he was home already. Maddie ran inside and greeted her dad with a hug around the waist in the foyer.<p>

"You're home!" she said happily.

"There you are! How was your hunt?"

"It was good, nothing special," Maddie replied casually.

Rosalie walked in and greeted Carlisle while passing him and Maddie on her way to the garage. She had explained to Maddie how important it was to change the tires after a certain time, because ... Maddie had zoned out then, so did not know why. But she knew what Rose would busy herself with for some time now.

"Good. How about you go wash your face and change into some clean clothes? Then we'll talk about what happened earlier," Carlisle said to Maddie. She was a messy eater, and she did not care enough to change that. Thanks to Alice she had more than enough clothes to ruin. And boy, did she ruin them ...

"Okay," she replied and took off.

After a minute, Maddie made her way down the stairs again and met her parents in the living room. She was a bit nervous, she had exaggerated on the phone a bit, after all. Her plan was actually to make him angry with Esme, and thus make him take her side and allow her to have whatever she wanted. But come to think of it now, she had never seen him angry with her Mom ...

Shitty plan.

After she had seated herself on the couch, Carlisle began. "Now. Esme told me you were asking for a pet and she told you you couldn't have one. Correct?"

"Uh-huh." Maddie nodded her head, back to being a very, very sad girl.

"We repeatedly talked about this and it is just not possible for us to let you keep an animal. Why do you continue asking for one?" he queried.

"Because I want one," she replied with a shrug.

He let his fingers run through his blonde hair and sighed. "It is not going to happen," he said with finality in his voice.

"But Daddy, if you let me have just one single pet I promise to be good ... _forever_! I'll never misbehave again, okay? Deal?"

"That is a very tempting offer, honey, but we all know that it might be too hard for you to maintain," he commented, then added, "We will not allow you to have a pet."

Maddie bowed her head and sulked. The protruding bottom lip helped a lot to show her parents just _how_ sad she was.

"Sweetie?" Esme asked and waited until Maddie looked up at her. "Could you tell me at what point you got the feeling that I was yelling at you?" She couldn't remember having yelled at her daughter, but if she had, she was truly sorry.

Maddie squirmed under her parent's scrutinizing eyes. "Well ... fine, you weren't yelling, but you were _mean_."

"Because I told you I wouldn't let you have a pet?"

"Yes," Maddie confirmed, quick like a shot.

"Madeline, for the last two days you were constantly asking for one. It is just not possible, please accept that."

"Not even a cat?" she asked in the sweetest, angelic voice she could muster.

"No. Besides, cats and dogs bring dirt into the house," Esme explained. They all knew that she had the cleaning bug. Why? Maddie did not know, and it certainly didn't make any sense to her ... it wasn't like they could get sick due to unhygienic conditions at home.

Or has anyone ever heard of a vampire suffering from house-dust allergy? Well, Maddie hadn't.

"A bunny? They are kept in a cage, no dirt." She underlined the 'no dirt'-comment with a wag of her index finger.

Esme decided it was time to give her daughter an additional reason. "You already had one, and it didn't exactly turn out well, now did it?"

Maddie gasped.

"Yes, I know all about it. Carmen let you have a bunny, but when she asked you to clean its cage, you _ate_ it."

Dammit. "That was an accident," she responded, averting her eyes.

"Really?" Esme perked her eyebrows up, before continuing. "Tanya told me that normally Carmen cleaned the cage for you. And when she wanted you to do it because it was your pet, you got angry and killed it."

"I wasn't angry," Maddie defended herself in a feeble attempt. "Like I just told you, it was an accident."

"You put the carcass under the covers of Carmen and Eleazar's bed."

Busted.

Shit, Tanya was such a blabbermouth sometimes! Hopefully she let out the part where Eleazar made sure Maddie couldn't sit down for a while. A long while. Gosh, he had been beyond furious.

* * *

><p><em>(Flashback)<em>

_"Maddie? Come here, please."_

_"Yeah, what is it?" Maddie walked down the hall and peeked into her room._

_"Look, when you see that your bunny's cage is dirty, please clean it up. I've done it for you several times already because you said you did not know how. By now you know how it works and it is time for you to take responsibility for your pet."_

_"Carmen please. I'll do it wrong ... and you are so quick with it ... please?"_

_"No chance." Carmen was determined to not cave in. The rest of the family had advised her against letting Maddie have a pet. She was too young and quick-tempered to take responsibility for something so fragile. She wanted to prove them wrong, but it was hard._

_"Please?" Puppy dog eyes._

_"Stop that," Carmen rebuked, even though a small smile played on her lips. Maddie was so cute when she wasn't angry._

_"Fine ...I'll do it later," Maddie said, dismissing it with a wave of her hand and made to walk out of her room._

_Carmen stopped her by speaking up. "You do it _now_. Not later, not in a while, not tomorrow. Is that clear?"_

_So Maddie turned around again and asked in a whiny voice, "Why?"_

_"It is starting to smell, so I advise you to do it immediately."_

_"But I've got stuff to do." Ha! No, she hadn't._

_"This is not up for discussion. You do it now," Carmen said with finality before leaving the room and closing the door behind herself, signaling to Maddie that she wasn't to leave her room until she did what she was told to do._

_Maddie was furious at Carmen. Unfortunately she was very bad at controlling her temper due to the fact that she was still a newborn; so she forcefully opened the cage, grabbed the little animal around the neck and squeezed._

_After hearing the satisfying crush of bones, she bit into the neck, if you could still call it that, and swallowed a mouthful of the warm liquid._

_The fresh blood calmed her slightly, but nonetheless, she was still angry. So she did the only thing that seemed right at the moment ... she went into Carmen and Eleazar's room, lifted the sheets and threw the little, bleeding ball of fur into the bed. She covered it again and smoothened the wrinkles out with her hand._

_Done._

_Maddie then went to the bathroom to check her face in the mirror. Wouldn't want any telltale traces of blood there. So she cleaned up, and then left the room to join the others downstairs._

_"Did you clean the cage?" Carmen did not look up from the book she was currently reading, but knew it was Maddie who had just descended the stairs._

_Maddie plopped down on the couch. "Yeah, I cleaned it all right." _Of anything living_. She smirked slightly._

_"Why are you smirking?" Carmen let her hands holding the book sink down to her lap and eyed Maddie suspiciously._

_"No reason." Maddie shrugged her shoulders and smirked even more._

_Now Tanya joint in. "What's that on your shirt? Is that ... blood?" She squinted her eyes at Maddie's dark grey longsleeve, trying to make out what the stains were._

Uh-Oh.

_Maddie immediately realised her mistake ... the upper bathroom had a mirror that was very high up - she could barely see her face in it. That's why Tanya got her a huge mirror for her bedroom. But ... Maddie had forgotten to make a quick detour to her room to scan over the clothes she was wearing for speckles of blood._

_Carmen narrowed her eyes at Maddie, stood up and hastily went upstairs._

_"Where is it? What did you do? Madeline!" Carmen shouted just seconds later while coming down the stairs again._

_She had been to Maddie's room and only found an open cage - which had not been cleaned out, by the way._

_"I am not joking around, tell me where it is," she prompted while pointing her index finger at Maddie._

_But she refused to answer, just looked in the opposite direction and bit her lip._

_Tanya made wide eyes and said, that she would stay out it._

_And then Eleazar came in from the garage. He had been busy repairing his motorcycle, but after hearing the shouting from inside the house he decided to have a look._

_Immediately Carmen informed him of what happened, and he sent Maddie to her room._

_It took them a couple of minutes to find the lifeless animal, but they found it in the end._

_It wasn't hard to miss._

_White sheets and a dead, bloody bunny underneath ... and the smell, of course. Can't hide blood from a vampire._

_Eleazar's reaction came instantly._

_He stormed into Maddie's room and before she knew, she was lying over his knees getting the spanking of a lifetime._

* * *

><p>"But it will be different this time," Maddie tried to reason with them.<p>

Carlisle frowned. "How so?"

"Well, that was like two years ago ... or something!"

"It was mere months before you came back to us," Esme stated matter-of-factly.

Maddie ignored her mother's comment and went on. "And when I am busy with school and studying and so on, maybe Mom or Rose could help me?" She tried and bit her lip.

Maddie was never busy with studying, by the way. And she just did not want to clean up pet poop, eew.

Still, she wanted to have a pet.

"No! Absolutely not! I don't want any animals in my house and you are not ready for the responsibility that comes with it! And to expect that we will do the work for you is just unbelievable." Esme clearly had it with this topic.

"Daddy ...," Maddie addressed her father. She looked pitiful - Carlisle normally would have caved in by now, the look she gave him was heartbreaking. But this wasn't just about some video game or a visit to the movies; it was about a living creature - one that she wouldn't get to have.

"Listen to your mother, Madeline. No pets. And this is the last time we talked about it, understood? No more of that," Carlisle ordered in a strict tone.

Maddie caught the finality in his words, which maddened her visibly. "_What did I ever do to you? !_" She suddenly roared, jumped up and stormed off towards the stairs.

Carlisle and Esme shook their heads at Maddie's dramatics. After that display, she could easily compete with Edward.

And Maddie was mad as hell.

_That was so not fair!_ How could they hold something that happened so long ago against her? She was a freakin' newborn back then! She did not know what she was doing! And she was sorry ... of course.

* * *

><p><em>(Flashback)<em>

_On the next day, when Maddie was able to walk and sit again without feeling uncomfortable, she joint Carmen in the living room. Bending over the backrest of the couch, she hugged her for a moment and said, "I'm sorry about yesterday, Carmen."_

_"It is forgiven, honey." She reached up and patted Maddie's cheek._

_Maddie let her elbows rest on the backrest of the couch, then carefully asked, "So ... can I have a new one?"_

_The worst timing _ever_ to ask for a new pet. Eleazar had just entered the house when he heard Maddie's question. In a few strides he was in the living room, held Maddie down over the backrest, and gave her a couple of very hard smacks to her behind._

_"OW! Stop!" she complained._

_"Does that answer your question?" he queried while pulling her back up._

_Maddie just glared at him while reaching back to rub at her once again smarting butt._

_"Or do you have some more I can help you with?" Eleazar asked, still having Maddie's upper arm in a vice-like grip and his right hand lifted in the air, ready for use._

_"No," she said sulky-looking._

_He let go over her arm and spun her around towards the staircase. "Good. Go to your room then, I put some homework for you to complete on your desk."_

_She took a couple of steps before stopping and looking back over her shoulder at Eleazar._

_He was busy looking at something Carmen was showing him, but still noticed that Maddie had not complied - yet._

_Pointing in the direction of the stairs without looking up, he just said, "Go!" He shook his head a little when he heard the sound of Maddie's feet walking up the stairs and to her room._

_ "What a nerve...," he murmured._

* * *

><p>While Maddie sat in her room seething with anger and trying not to break anything, her parents were still occupying the living room, talking.<p>

"I don't know, Esme, maybe the responsibility of having a pet might be beneficial for her?"

"We already talked about it, didn't we? She is not ready for it. And I don't want her to bring critters or other dirty animals in here."

"It seems to be her dearest wish," Carlisle countered.

"Yes, but it is not possible, you said so yourself. Sometimes we have to say 'No', and she has to learn to accept it."

Then she stopped and looked up at her husband. "Her sad eyes and whining have gotten to you, am I right?" she asked knowingly and patted his arm.

He smirked; it was true, after all. "She never asks for much, she doesn't have expensive hobbies like Alice or Rose, so maybe we should go against our principles this one time and let her have what she wishes for."

"You don't want pets in this house either," she remarked.

"You are right, I don't. But there would be one other possibility...," he smiled when Esme looked confused, but definitely curious.

"What is it?"

"Fish."

"Fish?"

"Yes, we could let her have a fish tank," Carlisle told his wife.

Esme pondered that over in her head. Indeed, they could get a small one, with several gold fish or whatever Maddie liked.

When Esme slowly started to nod her head, a voice from behind distracted both of them.

"After she has been a brat for the last several days, you now plan on rewarding her for it?" Jasper asked, disbelief prominent in his voice.

* * *

><p><strong>So? What do you think? Tell me in your REVIEW!<strong>

**And YES: Jasper is making an appearance because I like to drive twilight1987 crazy (I'm holding my pinky finger to my mouth right now, impersonating Dr. Evil, just so you know, ha!) Nah, I enjoy writing him - he is sooo annoying in this story :-D And the characters frustrate me, too! Imagine what it feels like to me when I start writing and these little fuckers just do whatever they want! I am surprised myself, hahaha!**

** Btw: I don't know when I'll update again. The next chapter is actually finished, but I think I'll change it a bit. Maddie is reeeaaally bad in that one! Maybe I should make her a little bit nicer ...**


	30. Chapter 30

**Next chapter!**

**peppa12: You hope Jasper spanks Maddie? Now I'm curious ... why would you like to read that?**

**SouthernBlossom: Don't be shocked! Carlisle and Esme did tell her that it would be cruel to let her have an animal, because they are scared of them. It even was the only reason Carlisle gave her in the very first chapter of this story. And she had been begging for two days already, so they had given her that reason many times as well. Everything else were just additional reasons that should make her see reason (her lack of consideration for her family, for instance). But I agree, maybe they weren't vigorous enough.**

**And Jasper is concerned about his sister, but she doesn't like the way he shows it, obviously :-/**

* * *

><p>"After she has been a brat for the last several days, you now plan on rewarding her for it?" Jasper asked, disbelief prominent in his voice.<p>

He walked closer towards them and sat down. "How is she supposed to learn anything when you give in the moment she puts on a sad look and pouts?"

"Jasper, you know she is not at liberty to leave the house whenever she wants. So while she is at home, this might be an excellent way to keep her occupied," Carlisle tried to explain.

"I think a fish tank would be a good idea," Esme said then, backing her husband up.

"I think a hiding would be a good idea," Jasper practically mimicked his mother.

Esme turned to look at her son. "Jasper, you see this the wrong way."

"No, you obviously see this the wrong way. You cannot let an animal suffer just because she gets bored from time to time. It just isn't right, and she has to understand this."

"That is why we make the offer of allowing her to have a fish tank. I really doubt fish would feel uncomfortable in our presence, we don't touch them or interact in any way."

"Madeline does not listen when you tell her 'No'; now she finally realised she won't get her way this time and you want to throw it into disarray. Unbelievable," Jasper complained.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked, then felt the whole impact of Maddie's anger - Thanks to Jasper.

"I see," Carlisle commented. His daughter wouldn't be that angry if she had the feeling she would get her way. But still ...

Esme couldn't bear to see her daughter miserable, and if something tiny like a fish would make her happy, then so be it. The fish wouldn't suffer, which made this an acceptable compromise.

"The fish tank would be a compromise I could live with," she remarked. "Do you think she'd agree?"

"How about we ask her?" Carlisle suggested, walked over into the foyer and called for Maddie.

A moment later, Maddie came down the stairs with folded arms and stopped when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Esme waved to her, motioning to come closer.

"Sweetie, we did not mean to upset you. You know that, don't you?" she asked in her soft voice, while Maddie sat down in one of the armchairs.

"But you did!" Maddie immediately snapped at her mother.

Jasper clenched his teeth to keep himself from roaring at his sister for her lack of respect for Esme.

"Now now. As long as you're not calm, we won't tell you about our idea for you," Carlisle admonished, which made Jasper roll his eyes. He was clearly annoyed that - again - his sister would be rewarded for her bad behaviour.

Maddie's eyes instantly lit up. She liked the sound of that. Idea for her? Does that mean that she'll get to have a pet?

"I'm calm and listening," she smiled sweetly.

"Are you?" her father queried.

She nodded her head like crazy and grinned.

"Good, sweetie. Now listen up," Carlisle said, before taking a breath and addressing her again. "We know how much you wish for a pet, and so we have given thought to it and decided on -"

"You're getting me a mole rat!" she shouted with excitement clear in her voice, not bothering to let her father finish.

Her parents looked at her as if she had just grown a second head. "A what?" Esme managed to ask.

"A mole rat, just like the one Ron has!"

"What? Who?" Carlisle had no clue whatsoever what his little daughter was talking about.

She groaned, then quickly explained, "Ron Stoppable is Kim Possible's best friend. And he has a naked mole rat ... named Rufus."

"Who?" he asked again.

"It is an animated TV series. Maddie watches it all the time," Emmett explained casually, then asked, "Where's Rose?"

"Garage." Maddie pointed over her shoulder towards the kitchen.

"Thanks, Tiny," he said and ruffled her hair when he passed her on his way out of the living room and into the direction Maddie had pointed to.

"So, a mole rat it is, huh?" she asked with hopeful eyes and ran her fingers through her hair; Emmett had fucked up her hairdo.

When no one answered, she grew a bit frustrated. "They don't have any fur, so they cannot lose their coat! No dirt, Mommy!"

"Maddie, dear. We won't buy you a ... a _naked mole rat_, no," Esme told her daughter, hoping she would accept it.

"Oh ... the naked is the problem, right?" Maddie asked while making a face. Her parents tended to be weird sometimes. "But they are so awesome! They look like little zombie rats, I swear!" she exclaimed; her eyes gleamed like they always did when she got overly excited.

"No zombie rat for you, missy," Rosalie said. She and Emmett were making their way to the staircase, Emmett had his arm around his wife's shoulders and suddenly looked confused. "Huh? Where is a zombie rat?"

Maddie turned to face her brother. "Wouldn't it be awesome, Em? I mean, if we had a naked mole rat?"

"They don't really look like zombies, Tiny."

"Gosh, you only know Rufus! You have to google for pictures of real ones, they are the shit ... and have huge teeth!"

Emmett smiled one of his goofy smiles, obviously liking the idea, whereas Rosalie rolled her eyes and pulled Emmett along.

"Uh, I know! I'll get to have a hamster, yaaay!" Maddie squealed and bounced in her seat.

With their mouths agape, her parents looked really stupid.

"No." Esme shook her head and carefully looked over at her husband. This discussion was not running as smoothly as they had wanted it to; their daughter got carried away.

"A ... bird?" Maddie didn't know what to do with a bird, but maybe her parents could enlighten her.

Jasper snorted. "As if anyone would trust you with the care of an animal." He had watched with an amused expression the whole time, glad that his sister had once again proved him right. She didn't care about animals, she didn't even care what kind of animal their parents would grant her, as long as they would dance to her pipe and she would get her way once again.

"Jasper -," Esme started to rebuke, but got interrupted by Maddie, who shouted, "Listen Emo, my pet is none of your freakin' business, so sod off!"

Esme gasped. "Madeline!"

"Why can't you realise that no animal whatsoever would willingly be near you? You are so _selfish_!" Jasper remarked.

"And you are so full of yourself that you don't realise when you are _not wanted_!"

"Children, enough!" Carlisle's voice stopped his two squabblers from having a full-blown shouting match. "Jasper, please go upstairs, we would like to continue our conversation with Madeline alone. And you," he added while facing Maddie, "watch your mouth."

Jasper trotted out of the room, while Maddie sat up straighter now. She was curious what her parents were planning for her.

"Madeline. We would like to make a compromise."

"A compromise? Like ... we get a dog, but it won't be just mine, but he'll belong to all of us?" she asked, slightly confused.

"No. You won't get a dog, a cat, a hamster, a ... _naked mole rat_, or a bird. Stop asking for any of these."

Maddie tilted her head to the side. How could there be a compromise if she wouldn't get any of these? What else was there? "I don't understand."

"Madeline, we would like to grant you your wish. Well, a suitable compromise would be to let you have fish."

Huh. Maddie looked utterly perplexed, before asking in an are-you-shitting-me tone of voice, "_Fish? !_"

"Yes, a fish tank." Carlisle nodded his head and leaned back in his armchair, crossing his legs.

Maddie's eyes narrowed visibly. She shot out of her seat, stomped noisily out of the living room and up the stairs - without uttering a single word.

Her parents looked at each other, quite confused about her sudden leave, then flinched when they heard something shatter.

Maddie had punched her flatscreen TV out of fury and the broken pieces were now littering the floor of her room.

No need to say that Carlisle grounded her for that, and she certainly wouldn't be getting a new TV anytime soon.

* * *

><p><strong>I had to shorten this chapter, because the rest hasn't been proofread yet. Sorry. Can't get myself to do it right now.<strong>

**My dog has been put to sleep today and I am extremely sad ... I guess. Actually I am feeling kinda numb inside right now - ****maybe it takes a while to realise that he is indeed gone. **

**Just to let you know: The last couple of days had been really tough, so I wasn't in the mood for writing ... or anything else for that matter. It might take a while until I'll update again.**

**Funny that I chose this time to write about pets...**

**Well, would be cool if you review this chapter anyways. And I apologise for any mistakes you might find. **


	31. Chapter 31

**Hello there!**

**I want to thank all of you for your kind words. I'll miss my dog a lot, but he lived a long life and I am thankful for that (he would have turned 15 in exactly one month from now!) To all of you who lost a pet, too: I wish you strength and keep the happy memories of your pet close!  
><strong>

**So, here is the next update ... it was already finished, I just needed to proofread once more. I hope you like it!  
><strong>

**And since we have reached another thirty reviews over night ... it's time! Make a wish!**

**Tell me what you wish for in your review, or pm me!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>Fish.<em>

Seriously?

What the hell was she supposed to do with fish? Stare at them? Knock on the glass?

Well ... if she got piranhas and could feed them with something living, that'd be cool. Or a shark!

But her Mom would probably just let her have a goldfish.

She had hoped the compromise would be something different, something ... less boring.

Maddie wanted something to pet and to play with, for heaven's sake!

* * *

><p>So on the next day Maddie was quite excited to go to school, because she could feel a plan forming in her head. That's why she stayed in her room listening to Kelly Clarkson and sang along. Edward wasn't allowed to listen to any music whatsoever, so Maddie chose to put on the music he hated. She didn't like it either, Rose had bought the CD for her in a futile attempt to get her little sister away from Metal and Rock music and over to something more girly, but now it was perfect to keep Edward out of her head, because she didn't want him to know about her soon-to-be plans. Plus this music aggravated him a lot, so Maddie was thoroughly enjoying herself.<p>

After looking at the clock on her bedside table however, her eyes went wide with shock - she had completely forgotten about the time!

Changing into her stupid uniform as quickly as possible, she then stuffed her books into her backpack before stopping dead in her tracks.

She had to take care of one more thing before she could leave the house.

So she quickly skipped out into the hall and knocked on Edwards door, entering when he told her to.

"It's time," she said all business-like and came to a halt right in front of him.

"Madeline, don't do that." He seemed quite unwilling, but unfortunately for him - he owed her.

"Give me your hand," Maddie ordered and grinned.

"Ah ah ah. I know you can do it without touch. Show me." He flashed her one of his lop-sided grins - he was curious, that's why he wanted to try it that way.

Maddie just looked at him as if he was kidding her. "No. I only tried it a couple of times, and never on anyone except for stupid school girls."

"So?"

She sighed when she heard her father call her from downstairs to leave for school; she didn't have time for this shit.

"It might not work properly, I don't wanna risk it," Maddie pressed out.

"Risk what?"

The look he gave her made Maddie nervous, so she started singing in her head again. "Your hand," she said through gritted teeth.

"Fine. At least I am not to blame when you get yourself in trouble again."

Maddie laughed at that. "Remember last week? Who got an ass beating and who didn't, huh?" she queried while tipping her index finger against her chin as if she really was trying to remember.

He groaned, then reached out and Maddie took his hand in hers. She inhaled deeply before looking her brother straight in the eye. It took a moment longer for her to connect with Edward's mind, but when she felt it, she could start giving him orders.

"You are unable to hear my thoughts and you cannot see any visions Alice is having of me." Maddie stopped for a moment, thinking. "Oh! Better yet: You are unable to hear Alice's thoughts as well."

Then she let go of her brother's hand and watched him come back. He blinked a couple of times, then looked up at her.

"Silence," he whispered, then said, "Good. Thanks for sparing me your crazy thoughts ... it's like a child's birthday party in a slaughterhouse in your head."

She winked at him, laughing. "You're welcome."

"Wait! I can't hear Alice either."

"Yup, consider it a bonus. Bye!" Maddie hastily said and waved him goodbye.

After she left his room, her plan was suddenly clear.

She should just get a pet herself, Maddie mused, while pacing up and down in her room. That way she could prove that she was indeed responsible enough. And if anyone ever found out about it, she would definitely be allowed to keep it since she had alrady taken good care of her little pet for a while.

Perfect plan.

The thing was: How do you hide an animal from your vampire family?

Well, a stuffed animal would be easy ... but a real one? A noisy, pooping one?

Ha!

_School!_

Brilliant!

Her parents wouldn't see it there, they wouldn't smell it there, and they wouldn't ever know it even existed.

When Carlisle called again, Maddie picked up her backpack from the floor, then started to descend the stairs to meet up with her father who called just_ again_, this time sounding unnerved.

Maddie wanted to hurry down the stairs but, like always, it wouldn't work the way she wanted to.

Alice blocked her way on the second floor.

"Alice ...," Maddie moaned, clearly not in the mood for a lecture.

"I cannot believe Edward gave his consent ...," she said, pondering it over. Then looked Maddie straight in the eye. "Don't do it, little sister, you hear? I am telling you just this once. It is a stupid plan."

Carlisle called again and started to walk up the stairs, very much impatient now.

Maddie grew nervous - she did not have time to discuss this with Alice without having Carlisle overhear.

"I know what I am doing," she mumbled fiercely. Then she just hugged Alice when she saw her father standing in the hallway, saying, "Bye Alice!"

"Madeline, I have been calling you several times already. We are going to be late if we do not leave immediately," he rebuked, waiting for Maddie to walk over to him.

"Sorry," she said. "I am ready now." She smiled up at him and he just sighed and returned the smile.

They left the house together after saying goodbye to Esme and headed for Maddie's school.

"You are very cheerful today, sweetie," Carlisle stated with a smile when he steered his car onto the big road that would lead away from Forks.

"Yep." she beamed up at her father.

"And what got you in such a good mood?" he asked skeptically. That she was that happy after last night seemed peculiar. Maddie normally would be sulking right now. Did she behave like this because she was hiding something? Or was she finally starting to grow up and accept that she wouldn't get her way this time?

"Dunno. I just feel happy today." She grinned over at her father, before turning the radio on. No need to have him ask too many questions.

When they reached the school about twenty minutes later, Carlisle stopped the car and turned towards his daughter.

"Be good and have a nice day at school, sweetie," he said and hugged Maddie for a brief moment.

"I will, Dad," she replied, gave him a sweet smile and opened the passenger door of the black Mercedes.

"Edward will pick you up after school today, I have to work longer."

"Okay! Bye, Daddy!" she said while getting out and then closed the door.

Carlisle waved to her before he finally drove off.

Perfect.

Now it was time to realise the plan - she would have rubbed her hands if it wasn't so cliché.

Maddie walked into the school building and hurried towards the office. Luckily there was only one secretary currently in the room. That made things a lot easier for Maddie.

She walked over to the counter and said, "Mrs. Fisher?"

"Yes, honey, how can I help you?" the older woman with badly died hair said, stood up and walked over to her.

Maddie looked her in the eyes, deep in the eyes, until she felt the connection. "Dr. Carlisle Cullen just called and excused his daughter for first period. She will come in later to attend her classes, that is why you have not seen her yet. Now go write it down," Maddie said and blinked, breaking the connection.

The woman blinked, too.

_Piece of cake._

Maddie left the office again and walked out of the school, ignoring the stares other girls gave her. She walked into the wrong direction, after all. At least that was what_ they_ were thinking.

She left the property and walked on in the direction of the city centre. There was supposed to be a pet shop; days ago she had searched for it online before starting to ask Esme for a pet.

She couldn't help herself but skip every now and then, before she reached the first shops. They were boring, only hardware and a small corner shop selling groceries.

A couple of minutes later however, she reached the drug store. The pet shop would be on the other side so she turned to her right and walked on until she saw the sign over the entrance.

_Yaaay!_

She immediately pushed the door open and walked in; a bell rang, indicating to the owner that a customer had entered the store.

"Hello there, welcome," a guy said. He was fugly. Greasy hair, dirty glasses and a pimply face. And that was just what Maddie detected out of the corner of her eye.

"Hi," she replied absentmindedly; she would alter his memory one way or the other soon, so there was no need to waste her manners on him.

She scanned the numerous cages and terrariums for her new pet.

What would it be? A big spider? Hm, no.

Maybe a hamster? She liked hamsters, they were cute and nocturnal.

She nearly decided to get one, before she realised that nocturnal would be more than dumb. Well, if she would be allowed to keep one at home, it would be awesome. During the day she was at school or somewhere, but during the night she mostly stayed home. Not willingly, of course, but her parents wouldn't see reason and let her go to a party or to the movies the moment it got dark outside. 'We have to keep up appearances.' she heard Carlisle say in her head, and she rolled her eyes.

So a hamster was out of the question.

Then she got a better idea ... some animals could change their daily rhythm to the one of their owner. The exact same animals she was currently looking at. _What a coincidence._

"Can I help you?" The stupid guy had walked up behind her.

"Yes," she slowly turned around on her heel and smiled sickenly sweet. "I wanna have two rats," she said, before adding in a harsh tone, "_Now_."

"Where is your mother? I cannot sell you any pets without a statement of agreement from your parents," he explained to Maddie while scratching his pimply nose.

She growled in annoyance.

_This bloke monkeyed around with her precious time, ugh._

He stood there waiting so Maddie decided to start right away. Looking him deep in the eyes she entered his mind. Not really entered, but it was like opening a window to plant new, wonderful thoughts into somebody's head - in this case, his.

It wasn't too hard for her, which meant: This guy was a simpleton. The dumber a person was, the easier she could influence them. Funny, eh?

"Be quiet while I take a look through your shop. And _don't_ move." She always had to phrase her comments very carefully or people would start acting funny.

Then she continued to watch the little rats of all colours in the big cage right in front of her. They seemed a little panicky all of a sudden, but Maddie couldn't care less.

A white one with red eyes caught her eye. Who would have thought there were rats that looked like vampires? Hah!

The next one she chose had pretty fur, it was of a warm brown colour and the rat's eyes were all black.

Yes, she wanted to have two, so they wouldn't be lonely.

"Hey, you," she said and looked back into the guy's eyes. He stood there stock-still, as if trying to compete with a statue.

Good.

That way she didn't need to make him look at her first, his blank stare was already in her direction.

"Come over here and sell me _this_, " she pointed to the brown rat, "and _this_ rat." pointing to the white one.

The guy retrieved a little cardboard box, opened the cage and fished the two creatures out of it to put them into the waiting box.

"Do you have rat food ... or something?" Maddie asked, sounding unbelievably annoyed. She was grossed out by this guy and wanted to leave as quickly as possible. Gosh, humans were sooo slow.

He nodded his head in response and walked over to a shelf which held boxes with all kinds of pet food.

Handing her a little box, she smiled up at him, then asked, "What else do I need, huh? What do you think, stupid?"

He frowned at Maddie's question, then shook his head lightly, deciding he must have heard wrong. A sweet, little school girl like this wouldn't just insult him, right? "Do you have a cage already?"

She snorted. "Sure."

No, she did not. Whatever for? It wasn't possible to hide a cage at school, now was it? _Idiot._

"Do you have toys and litter?"

"Yeah yeah, I have everything," she answered dismissively with a wave of her hand.

"Then you are all set." He walked over to the register before looking at her again, asking, "Can I see the consent letter of your parents?"

_That_ again.

She pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek in annoyance and took a calming breath, before ordering, "Look me in the eye."

He did,_ what an idiot_. And he wasn't even under her influence ... for now. That changed a second later.

"My parents called you just minutes ago and told you to sell me those rats and the food," she snapped. "Now let me pay for them so I can leave your stinky store." _Now_ he was under her influence.

He told her the sum she owed him and she paid. Of course she could have just taken the rats with her without paying, but then it would be stealing, right? And stealing was _wrong_.

"You have never seen me here. You would never recognise me _anywhere_." Before severing the connection, she added, "And get yourself new clothes, you look like a hobo. Deodorant wouldn't be wrong either. Buy some and _use_ it. And go to the dentist, for fuck's sake! Ugh, you're hideous!" With that said, she left the store, happily carrying a brown bag that held rat food and two little rats in a box.

She quickened her pace while walking back to school. She needed a little time to get everything ready for her new pets, Sam and Francis. And it would suck if anyone saw her carrying stuff into the school.

But she made it there without trouble, and still had enough time to spare to find her locker, opening it and putting her books into it. Then she spread some of the rat's food in there and released the little creatures.

Cute.

They were trembling a little, but probably just because they had been stuffed into a tiny box by that shithead. Now they could get acquainted with their new home.

She closed her locker with a happy smile and walked down to the main office.

"Good morning, Ma'am," she greeted the secretary and let her forearms rest on top of the counter.

The lady squinted at Maddie and said, "Madeline, isn't it? I must have misplaced my glasses, dear."

"Yes, it's me. My Daddy just dropped me off, he told me to let you know."

"That was very thoughtful of him." Mrs. Fisher nodded, then said, "Send your parents my compliments, will you?"

"Sure, Mrs. Fisher," Maddie replied, then looked around the room, waiting for the secretary to dismiss her.

"Good girl. I will sign you in now and tell your teacher that your absence has been excused."

She sighed. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"Then off you go, dear. You next class is about to begin."

"Yes, Mrs. Fisher. Have a nice day!" Maddie said with a sweet smile and wave her hand.

"You, too. Study hard, child."

Maddie turned around and rolled her eyes. She hated that office and the people that worked there. But it was better to be overly polite at all times in case she got into big trouble here. Nobody would ever imagine that a sweet and polite girl like Maddie could get into a fight, right?

And then Maddie left the room for her most exciting class of the day: History ...

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><p><strong>So, what do you think will happen next? <strong>

**Tell me in your REVIEW!**


	32. Chapter 32

**I really wanted to update yesterday, but my notebook was suffering from pms or something - it just didn't work anymore :-/**

**My brother had to fix it, poor boy, haha! **

**It's all better now, so here is the next chapter! Have fun!**

* * *

><p>Maddie couldn't wait to check on her rats during class. She was giddy with excitement that she finally had pets! So, after managing to endure nearly ten minutes of her History class, she excused herself and left. Her pets were more important than History, right?<p>

She hurried to her locker instead of to the restrooms like she told her teacher, and opened it.

What she then found was a bit ... _annoying_.

These little ones had completely destroyed her school books. They had ripped pages out, and probably eaten parts of them, too. And it smelled like pee in her locker ... _eew_. She scrunched up her nose at the penetrating smell.

Well, maybe it was a wee bit her own fault ... she should have given them something to sleep on, something comfortable, so they wouldn't have felt the need to fool around.

A new idea formed in Maddie's head.

She knew that there were more classrooms on the topmost floor, classrooms that were not used anymore.

She could put her rats in there, so they wouldn't keep on destroying her stuff ... good plan.

Hurrying up the stairs with her rats in the same box she brought them to school in and the food in the bag, she found the former classrooms and came to a stop in the hallway to look around. Choosing the very first room then, which was right next to the stairs, she broke the lock of the door easily before entering.

Quite decent, Maddie mused, maybe a bit small, but enough for little creatures like her new pets.

Maddie set the bag down on the floor and walked over to the windows in order to open them. It smelled funny in this room and it was stuffy and old; little dust particles danced visibly in the air where the sun shone into the room through the dirty windows. She wanted to let some cool air in for a couple of minutes, hopefully ridding the room of the smell.  
>Then she spotted an old coat that hung on a hook by the door. Taking it down and spreading it out, she put it on the floor.<p>

Looking around the dusty room once more, Maddie found big saucers on the window sills, probably used for room plants before the room had been abandoned; she grabbed them and washed the dust off under the faucet of the sink next to the door.

She filled one of them with rat food, the other one with water, then put them next to the cloak on the floor.

Hm, what else was there to do? Figuring that rats might like a dark sleeping place, she opened the old wooden closet in the corner and looked inside; it was empty.

Now that sucked. Maddie had hoped to find rags, or another cloak maybe. Deciding that she herself had to provide the little ones with her clothes then, she took off her school blazer and put it on one of the tables, before pulling her pullover over her head. That would be warm enough to sleep on, wouldn't it?

Stuffing the dark blue fabric into one corner of the closet, Maddie got just _another_ brilliant idea.

She would go get some toilet paper, too, so they could shred it and build a nest for themselves. Rats build nests, don't they?

Maddie shrugged her shoulders and left the room, only to walk back in after a moment with toilet paper in her hand. She spread it all over the room, then put her hands on her hips, admiring her work. She was _such_ a good pet-owner, how could anyone ever think she wouldn't be responsible enough?

She smiled to herself, until she remembered that she was still in school. Oh.

Checking her watch for the time, Maddie realised that she had already spend more than twenty minutes in this room ... which was not according to plan, by the way.

Shit.

Maddie closed the window hastily and released the two rats from the box, then quickly grabbed her blazer and left the room, closing the door on her way out.

"Where have you been, Madeline?" Maddie's History teacher, Mr. Miller, asked when she entered the room and closed the door quietly behind her.

"Restrooms, I told you," Maddie said with a frown while walking to the back of the room and sitting down in her seat.

"Detention."

Some of the girls in Maddie's class gasped, then looked back and forth between the teacher and Maddie, curious about how she would react.

"What! _Why?_" Her head shot up and she fixed her teacher with a glare, nearly breaking the pencil, which she had picked up from her desk a moment ago, in half.

"Come to me when this lesson is over, I am not going to discuss this with you right now. You have disrupted my class enough as it is," Mr. Miller rebuked, before continuing to write year dates and facts on the blackboard.

"Whatever." Maddie was annoyed. Her stupid teacher had given her detention in front of the whole class ... how was she supposed to get out of that? She couldn't alter the memories of so many people at once, dammit.

So, when class was over, Maddie walked up to the teacher's desk and waited for Mr. Miller to finish making notes in his little book. Then he looked up.

"Madeline," he said without emotion, took his black-rimmed glasses off his nose and placed them on the smooth surface of his desk.

"Mr. Miller," Maddie said through gritted teeth. She had always disliked this guy and now he was aggravating her further by folding his hands on the table and looking at her as if she had done something wrong!

He took a deep breath before speaking. "Quite frankly: I don't believe that you were in the restrooms for half an hour. You were cutting class."

"No, I wasn't!" Maddie countered, then realised that this exclamation probably wouldn't be enough to get her ass out of detention. She quickly switched from glaring at her teacher to showing her best puppy dog eyes and speaking in a soft voice. "I am suffering from cystitis and I didn't want to disturb your lesson by leaving the room every five minutes." Woah. Maddie was surprised she made that up _that_ quickly.

He raised his eyebrows at her explanation. "You do?"

She nodded and looked bashfully at the ground. "Yes. I missed my first class this morning because my father took me to see a doctor, to get medication. He called this morning as well, you can ask Mrs. Fisher, she spoke to him."

"Why didn't you tell me at the beginning of class? I would have understood, Madeline."

"I'm sorry." Maddie squirmed a bit. "I thought it's kind of embarrassing, I didn't want anybody to know."

"It is nothing to be ashamed of. Cold weather brings forward these kinds of inflammations. Now, ask one of your classmates if you could borrow her notes of this lesson, you have missed quite a bit. All right?"

"Yes, Mr. Miller. Do I still have to serve detention, Sir?"

He sighed. "No. But next time tell me before class that you aren't feeling well," he told her. "And tell your other teachers!"

"I will! Thanks, Mr. Miller!" Maddie chirped while leaving the room.

"He let you off the hook?" Somebody asked the moment Maddie stepped out into the hallway.

"You were eavesdropping!" Maddie laughed while walking over to her locker.

"Just curious." Becca shrugged her shoulders and followed. Maddie had met her on her first day at this school, they sat next to each other during classes and they were kinda friends.

"Well, I told him I was suffering from cystitis."

Becca's eyes widened with curiosity. "And ... are you?"

"Of course. I wouldn't lie to dear Mr. Miller!" She held her hand over her unbeating heart when she said 'dear' and batted her eyelashes. Then she laughed and nudged her friend carefully in the side with her elbow. Very carefully ... wouldn't go over too well if she broke her ribs.

Becca tilted her head to the side and asked, "So ... where have you been?" She really was a curious girl.

"Maybe here, maybe there ...," Maddie replied vaguely and smirked.

"What?"

"Just kidding. I _might_ tell you later," Maddie answered while opening her locker.

_Damn_, her shredded books still posed a little problem.

Becca's jaw dropped. "What happened to your books?"

And Maddie just made a face.

"Wanna swap?" she tried.

Becca reached into Maddie's locker and, using her thumb and index finger, picked one of the books up by its front cover. Several shreds of paper came fluttering out of it and a big yellow stain decorated the right corner.

"I'd rather not. I don't think my Mom would approve if I brought this home." She looked slightly grossed out.

"Well, I don't think my Mom would approve either." Maddie bit her lip. She couldn't afford to come home with shredded, peed-on school books ... just her luck. Why did she of all people had to get leaky pets?

"Is that ... _pee_?" Becca squinted at the yellowish spot and held the book closer to her nose, sniffing it. She flinched a second later, made a disgusted noise and threw it back into Maddie's locker.

Rubbing her nose on the sleeve of her blazer, she made even more disgusted noises. As if rubbing your nose on your sleeve would get rid of the smell. Gosh, Becca.

"You sure you don't wanna swap?"

"What did you do with it? That is so gross!" Becca exclaimed and shuddered.

"Huh? Do you think _I_ peed on it?" Maddie asked in disbelief.

She laughed, flashing her braces. "Haha, no! But ... what happened?"

The girl was suddenly pulled closer by Maddie, so that she could whisper in her ear, "Where do I get new books?"

"Book store?"

Maddie groaned, then whispered fiercely, "I need them _now_!"

"Oh." Becca thought for a moment, chewing on her lip. Then she exclaimed, "The library! I bet they have copies of all our school books! You could borrow them for a couple of days!"

Maddie's eyes lit up instantly. "You're a genius! I've never been to the school library before, but it would make perfect sense if they had our books!" She smiled, completely excited now and quickly picked up the pieces of paper that had fallen to the ground earlier - wouldn't do any good to leave traces.

"Then let's go now, Maddie, recess is almost over!" Becca urged and pulled on Maddie's sleeve.

They were lucky. Maddie found several copies of the books she needed, and promptly borrowed one of each for the whole week. That would give her enough time to order new books for herself from the book store - without anyone being any the wiser.

Hurrying back for their next lesson, they indeed made it in time and Maddie told her teacher of her ... bladder problem; she was free to leave the room whenever she needed to, and so she did.

The next hours followed the same pattern: Maddie left whenever she wanted and spent the time watching her little rats.

* * *

><p>"Hello. How was your day?" Edward greeted his sister when she sat down in his car and shut the passenger door.<p>

"Fine. Nothing special," she replied and threw her backpack onto the backseats.

"I am still curious as to why you wanted to keep me from hearing Alice's thoughts." He shot her a sideways glance while steering the car down the road.

Maddie shrugged and looked out of the window, away from her brother.

"What are you planning?" he questioned.

"Nothing," she replied, thoroughly enjoying the fact that her brother had no clue whatsoever.

"Don't give me that."

"What?" she asked, all innocent.

"I don't believe you. You keep me from hearing your thoughts, Alice's thoughts and all visions."

"Yeah. Thought she might like some privacy, too," Maddie answered, her tone of voice casual.

"You do know that Alice still would know what you are up to."

"I am not up to anything," Maddie defended herself.

"If you say so... and you smell _frowsty_, in case you didn't know."

They drove on in silence ... still no music for Edward.

Maddie wanted to entertain him by singing, but he put his hand over her mouth every time she purposely hit the wrong note ... which happened quite often.

* * *

><p>"What are you planning?" Rosalie sat down next to Maddie on the couch and put an arm around her shoulders.<p>

"Watching ... teleshopping?" Maddie said with the remote still in her hand, looking confused.

Rose shook her head no. "No, Maddie. I am talking about the fact that you blocked Edward from hearing your, as well as Alice's thoughts."

"Oh, _that_."

"Yes, _that_."

"Well, I wouldn't have any privacy if I hadn't done it that way, you know?"

"That is the reason you did it? Nothing else?" Rosalie asked, looking at her sister warily.

"What do you mean?"

"Emmett is pretty much concerned that you would plan on sneaking out of the house to see somebody."

"See whom?" Maddie's eyes lit up. Had Emmett spotted somebody cute around here, somebody she might like?

"Maddie, I don't know." Rosalie sighed while playing with Maddie's hair. "He wanted me to ask you."

"I'm not seeing anyone. And if I did, it wouldn't be any of his business."

"Maddie, relationships between humans and vampires are ... difficult to say the least. They end badly, that is why he is so concerned."

Bullshit ... he just didn't want her to date.

"Rose, come on. Tanya, Kate and Irina are with guys _all _the time, and they all happen to be human. It doesn't end badly," Maddie said casually and pulled one knee up to hug to her chest, all the while continuing to watch TV.

Rosalie's eyes bulged out of their sockets because of what Maddie said, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Uhm ... Maddie. Did they bring their ... companions home?" She really did not like the idea of Maddie witnessing unfamiliar men come and go several times a week, always just staying for a couple of hours.

Maddie shook her head no. "Nope. But I know what they do when they go away for some time."

"What they _do_?" Rose asked, sounding shocked.

"Yeah," Maddie replied absent-mindedly, but noticed that Rose was still watching her after a moment. "Oh, come on, Rose, don't make such a fuss about it." Maddie snorted while changing the channel.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? Do you like Becca? She made an appearance in the school story I've written (haven't posted it yet), and so I thought she could come back now!<strong>

**Don't forget to REVIEW!  
><strong>


	33. Chapter 33

**It's time for the next chapter, yaaay!**

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><p>On the next day, Maddie had finally let her friend in on the fact that she had pets, which she actually kept at school and not at home.<p>

Becca wasn't too thrilled; she figured a cage with real litter and toys would be better for them than a dusty room, but still volunteered to help Maddie out.

She just couldn't understand why Maddie wasn't allowed to keep pets at home. She had seen her parents - they seemed to be really nice people, who would comply with her every wish.

Well, Maddie couldn't tell her about the anxiety animals felt when she came near them or that she had killed her bunny in a fit of anger, so she just told her that two of her siblings were allergic to pet hair, and her Mom didn't like rats, hamsters, or anything that was little and looked mouse-like.

That explanation was good enough for Becca, and she noticed how inexperienced Maddie seemed to be with pets due to the fact that she obviously never had any before. Maddie didn't even try to touch them, she just sat there and watched. Maybe she was scared to do something wrong? Becca decided she would help Maddie to get more comfortable with these rats over the next couple of days.

* * *

><p>"Where is your pullover, Maddie?" Esme asked. She had walked into Maddie's room to pick up the school uniform Maddie had worn the day before in order to take it to the laundry room for washing.<p>

Maddie was lying on her stomach on her big bed, reading a book. "Huh? Which one?" she asked and looked up at her mother.

"The one you wore yesterday, dear." Esme looked at her expectantly after draping a checkered skirt and a white blouse over her forearm.

Maddie closed her book shut, rolled over onto her back and rubbed her eyes while answering, "I didn't wear a pullover yesterday, Mom."

Esme sighed. "Your school pullover, where is it?"

"Oh. It's in my locker at school," Maddie replied and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of her bed, ready to stand up.

Esme frowned. "Why?"

"I took it off, then I put it in there - that's why," She explained to her mother.

Esme was confused. "Why did you take it off?" Wearing a pullover certainly wasn't too warm for vampires. And it was already cold outside, so everyone would wear one, Maddie shouldn't take hers off.

"I felt like it. Gosh, Mom, please stop with your questions already. It's not a crime to leave it there."

Esme sighed, then explained. "Maddie, I did not mean to offend you. I was just wondering where it was because I wanted to put it in the washer."

"You don't need to wash my uniform every day, I didn't stain it." Maddie groaned.

Esme did not react to what her daughter said; they had talked about it before and she did not want to repeat herself over and over again.

"Just make sure you bring it back home this week, dear," she said and walked over to Maddie's closet to retrieve another set of her uniform, hanging it onto the hook over the mirror for her daughter to change into the next day.

* * *

><p>"Em! Psst, Em!" Maddie whispered, fidgeting nervously in front of her siblings' room.<p>

The door opened a second later, revealing Emmett in all his glory. He looked at her with big eyes and raised eyebrows.

"Why are you whispering?" he asked and scratched the back of his head, wondering.

Maddie rolled her eyes. "I've got a big favour to ask of you."

"Oh, and nobody should now, right?" He nodded his head, comprehending what the whispering was about.

"Psst!" Maddie held a finger to her lips, then motioned for him to follow her. "Yes, come."

She walked up to her room, her brother in tow.

Maddie grabbed three books from her backpack and brought them over to Emmett, who had seated himself on her bed.

"Do you want me to help you studying?" he asked when his sister held them in front of him.

"No," she said and handed him the books.

He looked them over before giving her a puzzled look, not getting why she brought him up here.

"What do you want me for then?"

"I need you to buy me copies of _these,_" she replied and tapped the pile of books in his hands with her finger.

"They aren't yours?" Emmett asked before looking down at the books again, then opened one of them and noticed the stamp on the inside of the front cover.

"No. I borrowed them from the school library. But I need the exact same ones ... as soon as possible."

"Aha, now I understand. You cannot go to the bookstore, because you wrecked your TV screen, right?" he asked while making a face. He had heard the shattering sound coming from Maddie's room ... and then Carlisle scolding her. Mere minutes later, Carlisle passed Emmett on his way to the garage, broken pieces of a once beautiful, little flat-screen TV in his hands.

Maddie nodded her head slowly.

"And why do you need new textbooks? Destroyed them once again?" He couldn't help but smirk. His sister could be so stupid at times; she was acting impulsively most of the time and somehow didn't manage to change that.

"They are destroyed, yes, but not by me. Can you help me out? Please Em, I'm screwed if anyone finds out," she begged with large, pleading eyes. He just had to help her, he knew she'd be in big trouble with their parents otherwise. She had shredded her books once, and it did not end well ... for her, of course.

Emmett patted her on the head with one of his huge hands. "Of course, Tiny, I'll help you," he said, then wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "But what happened? Who destroyed them?"

Maddie decided against telling her brother. He would think it was absolutely hilarious what the rats had done to her stuff in her locker and then he'd laugh for the rest of the day and then there would be questions and in the end ... her parents would know. No, thank you. She might tell him in a couple of months when she couldn't get in trouble for this anymore due to the lapse of time. "I'd rather not say."

"Listen Maddie, don't let yourself get treated like that. Tell me who did it and I'll take of it."

"Emmett! It was accidentally. I will tell you sometime, but not now, okay?"

He stared at her, then sighed. "All right."

Maddie took a step closer towards her brother. "Please Em, just get me these books, okay?"

"Okay, but I cannot promise you that they have 'em in stock."

"Oh, you just need to pick 'em up at Henson's. Yesterday I called and ordered them."

"Sure," Emmett replied, let his hands fall down on his knees, indicating that he was ready to leave, before standing up.

"Wait!" Maddie exclaimed, hurried over to her backpack and retrieved her wallet. Pulling a couple of bank bills out of it she held them out for Emmett to take.

"Tiny, don't be ridiculous," he said and gently pushed her hand back towards her.

"Take it, the books aren't paid for yet."

"Come on, I got it covered."

"Emmett, you're helping me a lot here, _take it,_" she said again.

"No," he replied with finality in his voice. "Spend your allowance on something you _like_, Maddie."

Since he didn't look like he would take her money anytime soon, she bit her lip and nodded her head slowly. "Don't tell anyone," she whispered.

"I won't. I'll get myself a book, too. Nobody will know about these."

Emmett left right after they had talked, and was back in Maddie's room about half an hour later. He smiled one of his goofy smiles when he handed her the bag with the books she had ordered previously.

Maddie cheered and hugged him around the waist.

"You are the best brother _ever_!"

He smiled like a Cheshire cat. "I know. But you may keep on telling me how awesome I am."

Maddie couldn't be happier. She had brand-new books, her pets were safe in their new home and everything went smoothly. She didn't even have to spend her allowance on the books, because Emmett refused unwaveringly to take money from his baby sister.

* * *

><p>Maddie left every day during classes to watch her pets, the inflammation was still a good enough excuse.<p>

Becca helped her to clean the locker so it wouldn't smell like a public urinal anymore. She even helped Maddie to clean the room where the rats stayed. They had to sweep the rat droppings out of it and some of the shredded paper as well, that way the poor things didn't have to live in their own dirt.

That worked for several days, until ...

The headmistress went to all classes on Thursday after lunch, telling the students that the pest exterminator would come the next day in the evening and check everything including the lockers for animals.

The janitor obviously had found gnawed-on and stained books in one of the trash bins in the hall. Plus today a small heap of black droppings on the stairs indicated that rodents had found their way into the building.

Now that was quite ... inconvenient for Maddie. What would she do with Sam and Francis?

She couldn't leave them at school, they would be found and killed, for sure.

And why on earth hadn't they used a dustpan? They had just swept the dirt out into the hallway and the stairs, but hadn't bothered to clean that up.

Becca, who already knew about the rats, couldn't take them home with her either. She said her parents would flip.

_Haha, guess what Maddie's parents would do? _Ugh.

What made it even worse was the fact that not Edward but Carlisle would pick her up from school on the next day.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, my dear readers ... I need your help with the next chapter.<strong>

**I have three possible scenarios in my head and just cannot decide which one I wanna write down and post.**

**And then I realised that _duh! _YOU have to read the stuff I write, so why shouldn't I let you choose?**

**It's up to you now!**

**Here are the three possibilities: **

**Would you like to read about ...**

**A. ... Maddie being real clever about all this and getting off scot-free.**

**OR**

**B. ... her parents finding out about the rats.**

**OR**

**C. ... Carlisle not finding out about the rats but something else Maddie did during the last couple of days ...**

**Please tell me in your review which one you'd like to read about and why! Or just post the letter! The one with the most votes will be your next chapter! **

**So all of you, anonymous or not: Tell me what it will be!**


	34. Chapter 34

**You chose option B ... the meanest option. Well, for Maddie anyways.**

**Really, what is wrong with you? No compassion? :-P**

**But, I have to admit: C was my favourite ... but I realised that only after I updated and asked you to vote. I integrated that as well now, because it still kind of fit in, hope you don't mind! **

**In case you mind: Please don't start reading this chapter.**

**In case you don't mind: Please start reading this chapter. :-)**

* * *

><p>Dammit. Now Maddie couldn't leave the rats in the old room, she couldn't put them back in her locker, and she didn't want to abandon them outside.<p>

Maybe she should bring them back to the pet store ... they would be safe there.

But then she thought about the possibility that somebody might walk in and buy them. But they were _her_ pets, nobody else's!

Becca saw things a little bit more rational:

"Do you want them dead?" she whispered. The class hadn't started yet, but they still did not want to be overheard.

"No!" Of course Maddie didn't want that.

"Do you want to get in trouble?"

"No!"

Becca didn't even know the meaning of trouble in her household ... Maddie's parents were old-fashioned, after all. Of course she didn't want to get in trouble! Her butt didn't want to get in trouble!

And then Becca gave Maddie the only option. "Then you have to take them back!"

Maddie crossed her arms over her chest and sulked.

But her friend was right ... wasn't she?

"All right," Maddie eventually muttered and excused herself again ... she desperately needed to use the restrooms. Haha.

Retrieving the little box from the closet in the dusty room, she put the little rats in there, grabbed the pet food and, after putting it all in a bag, she left the room.

Now came the tough part ... the headmistress was still informing the classes of the happenings for the next day, the secretaries were running around, as well as some teachers ... it was just too busy at that time of the day.

So the escape hatch it was.

Maddie walked over to the restrooms on the second floor, opened the window and climbed out onto the brick wall that parted the school grounds from the neighbourhood. Yeah, she knew ways to leave the school without anyone noticing.

So, part one of her mission: accomplished.

Now she just had to hurry back to town, find the pet store, give the rats back, and run back to the school.

Easy.

It all went smoothly, the walk into town, that is.

Maddie found the pet store and walked up to the door.

Oh no.

_Oh, no, no, no, no, no._

NO!

She growled, turned around and leaned against the locked entrance door with an angry snort escaping her lips.

Just her freakin' luck.

The store was closed. A note over the door knob informed possible customers that - due to personal reasons - it would remain closed on Thursday and Friday.

Maddie would have laughed if the situation didn't look so bad for her.

Breaking into the store wasn't an option, obviously. Couldn't do something like that in broad daylight.

Besides, it probably had an alarm system and Maddie couldn't take care of shattering glass and disabling the alarm at the same time - people would hear.

She impatiently tapped her foot and tried to think of another solution to her problem.

But she didn't come up with anything.

The only option was taking the rats back to school and then beg Becca to take them with her. Only for the weekend! She'll do that, right?

* * *

><p>"I won't do that," Becca whispered fiercely during their last class of the day.<p>

Maddie really thought about _making _her ... but then decided against it. Becca was kinda like a friend, and she didn't want to taint that relationship by treating her like a puppet.

Yeah, sometimes Maddie did have a conscience.

"I cannot take them either!"

"Take them back to the pet store!" Becca whispered after making sure that the teacher wouldn't notice her talking.

"I just went there, it's closed!"

"Do it tomorrow, then!"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "_Closed!_"

"Oh."

Maddie blinked a couple of times. "That's all you have to say?"

The teacher fixed them with a stern look before continuing to tell the class about ... whatever. Maddie wasn't listening anyways.

When Becca was sure that she wouldn't get caught talking, she breathed, "Sorry. We'll come up with something, it's still time."

* * *

><p>Maddie walked out of the school, said goodbye to some girls and then walked on towards the silver Volvo that stood parked next to the school's iron front gate.<p>

"Hello. How was your day?" Edward asked and opened the driver's door.

"Good," Maddie smiled and opened the door on the passenger side.

They both got in, closed the doors and buckled up.

"Something is up with you," Edward remarked and started the car.

They drove on, and Maddie watched her brother intently.

"Don't look at me like that." Edward shot her a sideways glance, then focused back on the road ahead.

"What do you know?" she asked slowly.

"I saw you in Carlisle's office."

Her eyes widened at that. "Huh?"

"Maddie, you knew it would wear off," Edward said, his tone completely nonchalant.

"I really thought I was getting better at that."

"Blocking abilities doesn't work for long." That was true. It was easy for Maddie to manipulate humans, but vampires were a wee bit more difficult. Blocking gifts was hardest - it was like they were fighting her influence off. So if she managed to do it, it would lose its effect after a couple of days.

"Apparently." She sighed and looked out of the window, scowling. After a minute she couldn't suppress her curiosity anymore, so she asked, "What did you see?"

"Exactly what I told you."

"Anything else?"

"No. I only get bits and pieces from Alice since two hours ago."

"Okay," Maddie commented. At least Edward was still suffering from bad reception.

"What are you trying to hide?" he suddenly asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Well, the cussing in your head does lead me to the assumption that you are trying to hide something you did."

"Excuse me? You just told me that I'll be in Carlisle's office soon. I hate being in there!"

Edward smirked.

* * *

><p>Parking his car in the garage, Edward stopped the engine and both got out.<p>

Maddie was determined to make her way up to her room and stay in there until she got an idea that would get her out of all this mess.

No such luck.

"Madeline? Carlisle wishes to speak to you in his office." Jasper was sitting at the counter in the kitchen, reading.

Maddie stopped moving immediately. Okay, that office-talk was obviously sooner than she had expected. "Do you know why?"

"No. He just told me to inform you," her brother replied.

"Why is he home anyways?"

"I think somebody passed away, so the operation this afternoon ended a lot sooner."

"Huh," Maddie replied and leaned against the counter, her backpack dropping to the floor.

What the heck did Carlisle find out?

Jasper looked up from his book then. "Maddie? It is impolite to make somebody wait."

"Oh, sorry. I'll be right up," she said timidly and left the room, tiptoeing up the stairs.

She didn't like the office ... so going to her room first seemed to be a clever move right now.

Maddie hoped to be able to pass her Dad's office on tiptoes, so he wouldn't notice her walking to her room.

But this was not her lucky day.

The door to his office was wide open. Maddie stopped and listened to find out what he was doing in there.

She heard the scratching of a pen on paper, then him picking up the phone, dialing a number.

A moment later, he started talking. Sounded like something work related. But he was distracted all right.

Phew! Thank God she got that chance.

Sneaking closer to his office, she tried to quickly hurry by to the next flight of stairs.

It worked, she reached the stairs. But before she could set foot on the first step ... "Madeline?"

She cringed at the sound of her Dad's voice.

Turning around, she trudged over to the open door and peeked in.

Carlisle looked up, and motioned for her to come closer with the hand that was still holding the pen. Then he pointed to the chair in front of his desk and continued to make notes while listening to the person on the other end.

When she remained standing in the doorway, he looked up again, held a hand over the mouthpiece and said, "Sit down, Madeline.", nodding his head towards the chair.

She made a face, but complied after closing the door behind herself.

Carlisle scribbled something into his organizer, then thanked the person on the other line and hung up.

Grabbing a file from his bag, he wrote something down in it, too. Then he put the file and the pen away, folded his hands on top of his desk and faced his daughter.

"There you are, dear." His voice was neutral. No anger, which was good.

"Uh-huh." She nodded.

"How are you feeling?"

Maddie crossed her feet underneath her chair. "Fine."

"Are you sure?" His slightly narrowed eyes unnerved Maddie a little, she had to admit.

"Yes?" she said, a wee bit of nervousness detectable in her voice.

"Then I am glad you made such a quick recovery, cystitis can be very unpleasant," he stated and looked her straight in the eye.

Maddie looked like she just turned to stone. Here eyes were wide and she was too shocked to move.

She couldn't even stammer an excuse.

_How the fuck did that happen? How did he find out about that?_

Carlisle did not take his eyes off his daughter. "So?"

Silence.

Finally Maddie unfroze; she used her newly regained mobility to ... avert her eyes.

"Madeline, I am talking to you."

_What an interesting desk. Very dark in colour, pretty carvings and -_

"Madeline!"

Unwillingly, she looked back up at her father.

"Would you like to explain to me what that was all about?"

She grimaced slightly, but did not talk.

Carlisle sighed, then spoke up again. "Fine, then I will talk first. Just half an hour ago I got an interesting phone call from your school."

Maddie cocked one eyebrow - and that was all she managed to do.

"Yes, I was also very surprised," Carlisle confirmed. "But what surprised me even more was the information I was given."

Maddie started chewing on her lip; this was not good, not good at all.

Your teachers are concerned about your health, because - apparently - you have been absent from your classes half the time this week. The secretary, Mrs. Fisher, suggested I take you to the hospital for a thorough checkup and different medication, since your condition has obviously worsened."

His amber eyes bore into her honey-coloured ones.

Too bad he did not sound like he thought this was amusing. Even though it was pretty amusing, wasn't it? It was, right?

"And I hadn't realised that we were _that _late on Monday, that you even missed your first class."

She would have preferred if he yelled at her ... this calm tone of voice was something Maddie hated. She squirmed in her seat.

"Luckily I called in time and let them know, hm, Madeline?" he informed her - there was an edge to his voice now.

Too bad Maddie did not have a plan - but then, if she indeed had one, it would be going down the drain right now.

"You may explain yourself now."

Okay. _Think, think, think._

"I'm sorry." Maddie slumped down in her seat and pushed her bottom lip out.

"No, Madeline, I expect an explanation from you. Sit up straight and tell me everything." Uh-oh, that came out strict.

"I don't like that school, you know that," she argued.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know perfectly well what let to us sending you to this school, don't you?"

She looked to the ground while playing with the hem of her ugly skirt.

"Madeline?" he prompted.

"Yes," she grumbled.

"Do I have to be concerned that you are repeating your misdeeds? Are you trying to get yourself expelled?"

"No, Sir."

"Then explain to me why you have been cutting class for four days now."

"I don't like that school, you know that," she tried again for lack of a better reason.

"You are very much mistaken if you think I would remove you from this school just because you don't feel like attending your classes right now." They had to keep up appearances after all.

"Daddy, come on! I didn't do any harm, just left during classes once or twice."

"Once or twice is thoroughly understated. You constantly left during each and every class."

"What the hell do _you _know? You weren't there," she huffed in annoyance.

"Listen, young lady, and listen closely: I will not put up with your insolence. Let this be a warning to you."

In order to not roll her eyes at his admonishment, she settled for something different: She took a deep breath before murmuring, "Sorry."

Then she realised how stupid cussing would be right now. Skipping wasn't that bad, right? And she had been at school and done her homework, so Carlisle wouldn't be too mad at her ... as long as she kept herself from mouthing off to him.

"Have you been struggling with your thirst?"

"No."

"Have you been struggling with dealing with anger? Did something infuriate you?"

"Nothing apart from the fact that I have to go there . . ."

Carlisle sighed, glad that her skipping hadn't been due to real problems but just due to her caprice. "Have you done your homework this week?"

"Yes, I have."

"All of it?"

"Yes," she said through gritted teeth.

He looked at her, one eyebrow raised at her attitude and waited if she had anything else to say. She wisely kept her mouth shut, so he nodded his head before proceeding.

"Tell me the truth: Did I call the school's office to excuse your absence?" He wanted to know if Maddie made him do that, or if she just told the secretary so.

"No."

"So you just made the secretary believe I did?"

"Yes."

"What did you do during that hour you weren't in class?"

_Buying rats, sneaking them into the school, ..._

"I read, listened to music." Maddie shrugged.

"And the times you left during classes?"

"The same."

"So all that just so you could do what you do at home?" He shook his head in disbelief.

Maddie just grimaced. It did sound stupid ... but telling him what she really had been doing would be even more stupid.

"You didn't leave the school grounds, did you?"

"No, I didn't."

Carlisle was relieved. He had explained to her how important it was that they always knew where she was. But, even though she skipped, she didn't leave the school, which was good.

"You're grounded," he informed her while pointing a finger at her.

"Dad, I am already grounded." She snorted and looked at her father like he was an idiot.

_Oh no!_ Her eyes widened when she realised what she had just done.

Carlisle jaw clenched at her attitude, then he remarked, "You obviously enjoy it very much. So you can add another week."

"Yes, Sir." Maddie hung her head.

"And you must not cut classes anymore. Leaving the room during the lesson is distracting, you are not just harming yourself, but all the other girls who wish to learn something as well."

"Yes, Sir." _Wish to learn something ... in which world was he living in?_

"Madeline. I do not wish to hear of you not attending your classes again. And I certainly do not want you to lie to the school staff about illnesses or me excusing your absence. Next time I will not be so lenient with you."

She nodded.

"Will there be a next time?" he questioned.

"No, Sir."

* * *

><p>"You're in trouble, Tiny?" Emmett asked the moment Maddie stepped out of Carlisle's office. His eyes held concern while he watched her from his position leaning against the door frame of his and Rose's room.<p>

"Fuck, he's just pissed somebody died on him today," Maddie grumbled.

"Madeline!" came from the inside of the office, then the scratching of chair legs on the wooden floor could be heard.

Maddie's eyes widened before she took off, running upstairs and into her room. She could hear a door being forcefully opened and angry footsteps following her up the stairs.

Carlisle did catch up with her before the door to her room could click shut.

When she turned around, she was promptly bent under his arm and felt how several sharp smacks were applied to her behind.

They lit her butt on fire - Carlisle definitely wasn't in the mood for her nonsense today.

As soon as he let her up again, she rubbed furiously at her behind, having easy access since she was still wearing her school uniform and could snake her hand under the skirt.

"I warned you about your attitude. Can I trust you to watch your mouth now or do I need to put you in a corner for a while so you have time to think and calm down?"

"I'll be good now," she mumbled. Standing in the corner wasn't that bad - but it was unbelievably embarrassing to get punished like a toddler.

Carlisle's face softened instantly. He cupped her cheek in his hand, then took a step closer and embraced her in his arms.

"Sweetie, what is going on? Would you like to talk about what is bothering you?"

"I'm good, nothing is bothering me." Except for the fact that she wasn't allowed to have pets, but had them anyways.

"I'm just offering in case you wish to talk."

"I just wanna be alone right now, Daddy," she said and looked up at him.

"I understand. I'll be in my office, so you know where to find me."

She nodded her head before he left the room and shut the door behind himself.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? I know I promised that this chapter would be of Esme and Carlisle finding out, but that way you would have to wait even longer. So I just split the chapter, because it is still not finished yet.<strong>

**REVIEW please :-) **


	35. Chapter 35

** Next one, enjoy!**

**It got longer and longer ... **

* * *

><p>"Maddie? Maddie!" was yelled the moment Maddie passed through the wrought iron gate that lead to her school.<p>

Becca came running towards her, her face flushed due to the icy wind.

"Whazzup?" Maddie asked casually.

"Do you have a plan -"

"Shhh!" Maddie whispered and looked behind herself, tilting her head as if she was listening for something. Then she nodded and turned back around. Yes, she was checking if her father had already driven off.

"No, I didn't come up with anything. You?"

Becca just shook her head and grimaced apologetically.

"Now that sucks," Maddie commented, then walked on.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"I need to buy a new sweater," Maddie explained. Wasn't that obvious?

"Oh, right." Becca had seen the one Maddie had laid out for the animals. It was not in its usual condition anymore.

There was a little shop on the school grounds that sold everything needed for this school like uniforms, backpacks, hats (Maddie had a beret which she _hated_, so she had never worn it yet and was determined to keep it that way!), sports uniform and sporting goods, of course. They only opened twice a week, so it was Maddie's lucky day.

She bought a dark blue pullover with the school's crest embroidered over the left chest - it was just like the other ones she already had. And she had to pay for this thing with her allowance.

Oh well, she was grounded anyways, no chance to spend the money on anything else.

Before her first class started, Maddie took the pullover she was currently wearing off and stuffed it into her locker, unwrapped the new one and put it on. She hoped the sweater would smell of her when she would go home again, otherwise Esme might think something fishy was going on here.

Becca watched, looking bewildered. "You're changing? Why?"

"This one looks too new, I don't want my Mom to notice." That was part of the truth.

"I see."

* * *

><p>Maddie was nervous for the rest of the school day. Carlisle would come pick her up, and she somehow had to take the rats with her ... without him noticing, of course.<p>

When the bell rang, indicating that last period was over, Maddie felt like her feet were made of lead. She didn't want to face her father ... but what was there to do?

Nothing, obviously.

Luckily she put the rats into their box and brought it down from the secret room. And just minutes ago, she had put it in her locker so now she only had to retrieve it along other things to stuff it all into her backpack.

She tied the second sweater from her locker around her hip. If she stuffed it into her backpack along the rats, it might smell of them - and that way she would run the risk of her parents finding out.

Taking another calming breath and telling herself that she could do it, she then put on a cheerful face and skipped out of the school building and off the school grounds to look for her Dad's car.

He stood there with his arms folded on the top of his car, smiling when he saw his cheerful daughter approaching.

"What makes you so happy, sweetheart?"

"Weekend, _finally!_" she moaned.

The moment he opened the driver's door, Maddie walked over to the trunk and carefully put her backpack in there. Closing the trunk again, she then joined her father in the car.

"Can we listen to the radio?" she asked quickly, already turning it up to mask possible noises the rats might make in the trunk.

"Sure, dear, whatever you like," he replied, amused by her hastiness. She was obviously craving some distraction from school.

"Has Emmett purchased a new movie for you to watch this weekend?"

"I don't think so, he didn't tell me anything about movies this weekend." She looked at him with big eyes, shrugging.

That was when Carlisle noticed her eye colour. "Maddie, dear, when was the last time you hunted?"

"Tuesday."

He frowned at her answer. "Did you have a stressful week? You eyes have changed so much in this short period of time, it is quite unsettling." They weren't dark, but still darker than usual after just a couple of days.

"Duh, Daddy, you know I had a rough week," she replied, put her elbow up against the window and let her head rest in her hand.

"You can relax this weekend." He smiled reassuringly and rubbed her upper arm.

"I know," she lied. _What was relaxing about having to hide two living creatures in her room from a bunch of vampires with sharpened senses? Answers? Anyone?_

* * *

><p>Maddie immediately jumped out of the car the moment they reached the garage, not even bothering to wait for her father to turn off the engine.<p>

Hurrying to the back of the car, she quickly opened the trunk, retrieved her backpack and took her Dad's black bag in hand before closing it again.

"Here you go!" she chirped, handed her father his bag, got patted on the head, then made her way quickly up to her room.

Phew, now that had worked nicely.

But on to the even more complicated part: Keeping the rats well hidden for the next few days.

She couldn't leave them in her backpack forever, so she walked over to her closet and looked around.

Nice.

There was a big plastic box, which held belts and bags.

Turning the box upside down and emptying it that way, Maddie then nodded to herself.

She put her rats in there and watched them for a moment to make sure they couldn't get out and run through the house.

Good, they couldn't.

Now ... where to put them? Her closet would start to smell if she hid them in there.

The balcony? Not an option, either. The weather was too cold and the box was of a bright green colour; everybody would notice it standing out there and ask questions.

So she put it in between her bed and the balcony door. That way nobody would notice anything unusual when just looking into her room, and she could let some fresh air in to thin down the smell.

Now the noise still posed a problem. Why couldn't rats just be mute animals? Well, they weren't as loud as a dog for example, but still made scratching noises and little squealing sounds.

Sighing, she turned her stereo on, not even caring which CD would be playing now.

Now ... _oh!_

Food and water ...

Maddie emptied the little tin can she normally used for her necklaces, rings and bracelets, and carefully opened her door.

The hallway was empty, so she had no trouble jumping into the bathroom, filling the can with water, and hurrying back into her room without being seen.

The food she just poured into one corner of the box holding her pets.

What else? They sleep, of course.

Looking through her closet she found a pink wool cap. Why she had something like _that_ in her closet, she did not know.

Grr, Alice ...

Oh well, then it would be put to good use now. Her rats could sleep in there, along some tissues to shred and to stuff into their new home.

Now she was more or less done.

Quickly changing into more comfortable clothes, she then took her uniform in hand - plus the second pullover - and left her room.

"Mom?" she shouted down the stairs.

"I'm down here!" Esme replied.

Maddie shrugged and tossed her clothes over the banister.

They landed with a _Thud!_ on the ground floor.

"Madeline! What's all this good for?"

"My uniform for washing! I just wanted to help you save time, Mommy!" Maddie replied.

Esme sounded a little bit irritated. "Pick it up and take it to the laundry room!"

"But I'm up here ... and you're down there!" she countered. Made sense, right?

"Madeline, behave," Carlisle admonished.

"What a waste of time ...," she grumbled while stomping down the stairs. Then she realised it would be better that way. If she was too defiant right now, her parents would come upstairs and that was bad.

She needed to keep her parents far away from her room for the weekend. Keep them busy elsewhere or just not being in her room herself so they wouldn't go in there if they were looking for her.

"Did you bring your pullover home with you like I asked?" Esme questioned.

Maddie held up two sweaters and Esme nodded, turning back around.

"Shall I put it into the washing machine now and switch it on?"

Esme turned around again with a jerk, wide-eyed. "No!"

But then she added hastily, "I mean: No thank you, sweetheart, I'll do it later." It was safer to not let Maddie do anything concerning laundry, Esme had experience with what could happen and she did not want to risk it again.

Maddie picked up all the clothes that lie scattered on the floor, hugged them to her chest and walked to the laundry room.

Coming back a moment later and starting to walk up the stairs again, Esme called her over into the living room.

"Madeline, you need to hunt. Today or tomorrow."

"I'll go tomorrow." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"All right, honey. Have you started on your homework yet?"

"Sure." No, she hadn't, tee-hee.

"Good, because you know the rule."

"Yes, and I _love_ it," she remarked sluggishly while trudging up the stairs again.

Esme and Carlisle looked at each other, silently chuckling.

* * *

><p>Maddie had been listening to music for over five hours now. She had to switch it off soon, or her parents would come up to see if she was moping or feeling a little disturbed by something ... or the like.<p>

Typically parents.

So she turned it off and then decided to play with her gameboy some. The clicking sounds would hopefully be louder than the noises rats made.

"Mad?" Emmett called. Maddie's door was closed so he just stood in front of it and waited.

"Huh?"

He spoke again. "Let's go hunt!"

"Nah."

"Come on! I'm bored."

"I'll hunt tomorrow, Em," Maddie said while continuing to play with her gameboy.

Emmett opened the door just then and stepped inside.

"Emmett!" Maddie yelled while hastily getting up from her bed. "You cannot just barge in here, what if I had been ... naked?" she asked, then realised how stupid that sounded.

With a bewildered look on his face, Emmett asked, "Why would you be naked while playing gameboy?"

Told you so - it sounded stupid.

Maddie scratched her head. "Huh. I don't know."

"Let's play something."

"I'm already _playing_ _something,_" Maddie mocked and held her gameboy up for him to see.

Emmett snatched it from her hand and ran from the room.

"Hey!" she complained and chased after him.

They settled for playing video games in the living room - Esme didn't like them running around the house like crazy.

* * *

><p>On the next day, Maddie was really proud of herself.<p>

She had honestly managed to hide her rats from the rest of her family for a whole day now.

Yaaay, go Maddie!

The little ones had kept quiet for several hours, but now they were wide awake again.

Maddie put on some music to drown out the noises they made and to keep anyone from overhearing.

She could keep it up with that system ... if there wasn't the little problem of her having to hunt.

She had to leave her room for about two hours and didn't know what to do with the rats during that time; she had asked her parents if they could all go together as a family ... but that had only resulted in Carlisle an Esme planning a two-day hunting trip with the family some time in the near future.

Then Maddie had whined a bit that she wanted to do it now, so in the end: Everybody except for Alice and Esme would leave to go hunting soon.

She didn't know if that was good or bad. Good maybe, because less people could notice the animals she held in her room. Bad maybe, because the house would be too quiet with nearly all of them gone.

She could lock her door.

The only problem was: She had slammed her door once too often - the lock was deformed and she hadn't told anyone that it needed fixing.

So that option ... wasn't an option anymore, obviously.

She then settled for the next best: Putting a CD into her CD-player and leaving the music on even when she'd leave the house.

Might work.

Half an hour later, Maddie got called down so they could go on a hunt. She was tense and hoped that nobody would walk into her room during her absence.

She met the rest of the family in the foyer.

"Everybody ready?" Carlisle asked and looked around.

"Is your music still on, Maddie?" Rose asked.

"Oh, I forgot. Do I _have_ to go back up and switch it off now? I really wanna start hunting." she pouted a little bit.

"I'll do it for you, dear," Esme said.

"No need! I'll just turn it off when I come back home. It doesn't bother anyone, right?"

"Well, all right then."

* * *

><p>Their hunt was successful. Everyone was satisfied after nearly three hours, so they could make their way back home.<p>

Before they reached the path to the house, however, Edward whispered in Maddie's ear, "You're in trouble."

She felt her heart sink to her boots.

Jasper quirked an eyebrow at that and turned around to look at her, but she just shook her head lightly.

They got closer to their home and Maddie grew more and more nervous. Especially because she saw light in her room.

She hadn't switched it on.

And vampires didn't need it - their vision was, even in the dark, remarkably precise.

So somebody wanted her to know.

Her pace became slower and she was tempted to just make a run for it now.

But with her family around, she wouldn't get very far.

Jasper shot her more glances, not knowing why she felt so nervous all of a sudden.

When they pooled into the foyer, an angry voice could be heard.

"Madeline! I want you to come up here _right now_!" It wasn't just angry - it was royally pissed off.

All eyes were on Maddie now.

Carlisle's glance was piercing, whereas Edward looked like he didn't care - he knew what was going on after all.

The others looked at her questioningly, trying to figure out what she could have done while she wasn't even home.

"Go. Your mother is waiting," Carlisle told her.

Maddie hung her head, but then walked up the stairs.

On the stairhead she slowed again. Her mind was racing for possible excuses why she would have rats in her room. That was what Esme found, wasn't it?

"Madeline, I know you're here," Esme growled. She was indeed mad, oh boy.

So Maddie peeked into her own room.

Yep, Esme stood there between the bed and the balcony door, arms crossed, and looked down at the floor.

Maddie's guess was: She looked down at two little rats in a box.

Fixing her daughter with a glare, Esme said, "Explain."

But Maddie had a different idea. She turned around and darted from her room, only to run face first into a brick wall - or Carlisle - whatever you prefer.

He held her by the upper arms to steady her, then asked, "What is going on?"

"Our daughter will show you," Esme replied, sounding positively enraged.

He looked questioningly at Maddie, who just cringed.

"Come," he said, turned her around and lightly pushed her forward back into her room.

She walked off to the side, instead of to where Esme was standing.

Carlisle just sighed at his daughter's antics, then he headed over to Esme to finally find out what was going on.

He approached her, looking down to see what his wife was pointing at.

She, however, kept an eye on Maddie, to make sure she wouldn't run.

Maddie watched her father comprehend the situation. The look on his face changed from puzzled, to frowning to angry.

Clenching his jaw for a moment, he then pinched the bridge of his nose and beckoned his daughter over with two fingers.

"Come here," he said strictly.

Maddie shook her head, her wide eyes held panic.

"Madeline ...," he warned.

She whimpered, then slowly approached her parents with tentative steps, all the while holding her hand to her mouth to chew on her thumb nail.

This definitely was a déjà vu. Well, it was actually worse than the last time they were in her room in this constellation and looked at something on the floor in the exact same spot.

Carlisle took a step backwards, put a hand on Maddie's shoulder when she was close enough and pushed her in front of himself, so she would have a very nice view of the subject in question.

"Explain," he ordered.

But Maddie didn't want to explain - she wanted for the ground to open up and swallow her.

Esme seized Maddie's wrist in her hand and pulled it away from her face.

"What are these rodents doing here?" Esme asked sternly.

Maddie swallowed audibly, desperately trying to think of something clever to say.

She could say she was just watching them for someone. But then she would need to explain why she hadn't asked her parents first. And they would want to call the other person's parents.

Or she could say they were school rats for an ... experiment or something. But then her parents would call the school.

This sucked so bad and she couldn't come up with anything else.

"_What are you doing in my room?_" Maddie suddenly queried. If Esme hadn't entered without asking, Maddie wouldn't be in this mess right now!

Esme blinked a couple of times in disbelief, whereas Carlisle went rigid behind Maddie. He was controlling himself to not let his hand crack down on her behind for her insolence.

"I washed your uniform and wanted to put it in your closet."

"My closet is over _there,_" Maddie snapped and pointed at the door to her closet next to her room door. She knew she shouldn't talk to her mother like that, but what was she supposed to do when Esme was snooping around her room?

"I smelled something. Urine to be precise. Now would you be so kind as to explain what these animals are doing in my house?"

Maddie sulked and didn't say a word.

"Enough, Madeline! You will answer now!" Carlisle admonished. He was fed up, that much was clear.

Realising that her parents wouldn't leave her alone anytime soon, she whispered, "I wanted to have some pets."

Esme was very much upset. "Did we allow you to keep pets at home?"

"... no," she admitted.

"Then what are they doing here?"

"It's only for the weekend!" Maddie exclaimed.

Yes, that exclamation confused her parents.

Carlisle pointed to the bed and said, "Sit down."

Maddie obeyed and seated herself on her bed.

Esme followed and sat next to Maddie, while Carlisle pulled Maddie's chair out from under the desk, then pushed it over to stand in front of the bed. He seated himself and faced his daughter once more.

"Start from the beginning. Where are they coming from?"

"School."

Esme and Carlisle frowned at that.

"Why would they keep rats at your school?" Carlisle questioned.

"They don't ... but I did."

"_You?_"

"You said not in the house," Maddie explained, then squirmed a bit. "... so I figured it would be okay to keep 'em at school."

She averted her eyes now.

Esme couldn't believe what Maddie just said.

"It would be _okay_? Madeline, what did we tell you about pets?" she asked strictly.

"Well ... you said you wouldn't buy them for me and you didn't want them in the house ... I bought them myself and kept them at school," Maddie explained meekly.

Carlisle huffed. "I don't think pet store owners are allowed to sell animals to children, am I right?"

Oh, _that_ word again.

"I'm not a child!" Maddie yelled and jumped up from the bed. Her outburst was loud enough for the whole house to hear.

"You would do well to sit back down, young lady! Your actions are childish, so I fail to see you any different right now!"

Maddie was angry now, but did as she was told - while glaring at her father.

"When did you buy these rats?"

That stopped the glaring. _Why did he have to ask that?_

"I'm not sure ... maybe ..."

"Don't guess, be honest!" Carlisle ordered.

"Monday," Maddie admitted in a tiny voice and watched her father narrow his eyes.

_Oh, great. It was getting even worse now ..._

"So you left the school grounds to get these."

"No, they sell 'em at school ...," she replied and rolled her eyes, but suddenly realised her mistake when her father practically glared at her.

"Madeline, there is nothing amusing about your actions. And considering that you lied to me about this yesterday doesn't help your situation right now. So don't make it worse for yourself and watch your attitude," Carlisle chided while wagging his finger at her.

She nodded her head and looked down at the floor.

"Where did you keep them?"

"In an old classroom. They don't use it anymore."

Carlisle cleared his throat. "Are the rats the reason you left during classes?"

"Uh-huh."

It was quiet for a brief moment, then Carlisle drew a deep breath.

"You will take them back," he said decisively and sat up straighter.

"Yes, on Monday," Maddie confirmed.

"Not back to school - back to the pet store!" Carlisle clarified.

"But they are _mine_!" Maddie then shouted.

If Esme hadn't been in the room right then, Carlisle would have given his daughter a taste of what was soon to come.

But Esme was in the room, and she had something to say to Maddie's outburst.

She stood up to have her daughter's full attention, then gave her a piece of her mind. "They are _not_ yours and you don't know how to take proper care of them! We explicitly forbade you from having pets, but you went behind our backs and purchased these poor creatures even though you know animals are scared of us! And they are obviously scared!"

"If you would stop yelling, they wouldn't be scared!" Maddie countered.

Any other mother would have given Maddie a clip round the ear right now. But Esme made to with taking a deep, calming breath and folding her arms. "You take them back this. instant. I want them out of my house."

Maddie looked sad.

"I'll tell Emmett and Edward to accompany you," Esme informed Maddie and left the room to look for her sons.

Now Maddie was alone with Carlisle.

"Daddy ...," she whined.

"No, you listen to your mother. Return them to the shop and then you and I will have a much needed discussion," Carlisle replied in a voice that brook no argument.

He could use the time to calm down while Maddie would be at the pet shop to get rid of these rodents.

"But ..."

He held up a hand to keep her from speaking. "Madeline, any backtalk now and sitting in the car will be less than comfortable."

So Maddie settled for hanging her head.

Emmett appeared in the doorway and said to Maddie, "Come on, let's go."

"Where are they?" he then asked, looking at Carlisle.

"By the window, Emmett."

So Emmett walked into the room, grabbed the box and walked out again, waiting for them in the hallway.

"Thank you, son," Carlisle said and guided Maddie with his hand on her shoulder to the door and down the stairs.

Before Edward, Emmett and Maddie could get in Emmett's car however, Carlisle called after them, "I wish to be informed if she isn't on her best behaviour."

"Yes, Dad," Edward replied and closed the door behind himself.

* * *

><p><strong>Still not done, ha! So in the next chapter Maddie will face punishment ... but I'm not sure what Carlisle will do. A spanking? Maybe two? Keep in mind that she is already grounded. <strong>

**Ugh, that girl ... :D**

**REVIEWS are more than welcome! Tell me what should happen in the next chapter! **


	36. Chapter 36

** Phew! **

**Since you all were _that_ curious as to what would happen next, I tried to hurry a bit!**

**Yesterday I have updated my other story as well, and finished a whole new chapter for it which I will update tomorrow, so please check 'Better times will come', too! **

**Hope you like it!**

* * *

><p>"How do you do that? How do you land yourself in so much trouble?" Emmett asked with a smirk on his lips while steering the car in the direction of Fairholm where the pet shop Maddie had bought the rats from was situated.<p>

"I don't know!" Maddie whined and curled a strand of her hair around her finger.

Edward shook his head. "Why didn't you listen to Carlisle and Esme? They told you countless times you weren't allowed to have pets."

"I just wanted one ... or two," she said feebly and pulled a sweatshirt of Emmett's over her head. Her shirt was all bloody from the hunt, after all, and this was the only piece of clothing he had in his car. Since Emmett was huge, and she was little, she looked like a dwarf in his sweater.

"Well, hopefully you wanted your impending thrashing, too," Edward then remarked.

"Huh?" That sounded pretty much worried.

Well, what else would Maddie be right now?

"It was very clear in Carlisle's head. And in addition, you shouldn't have lied to him and you certainly shouldn't have mouthed off to him just now."

"What am I supposed to do now?" she whined.

"Do as you're told," Edward and Emmett said in unison.

Maddie swayed to and fro in her seat, then asked in an angelic voice, "Em, can't you talk to them?"

"Tiny, if it would change anything, I would do it this instant. But I don't see anything that might help your situation right now."

"Oh ..." She hung her head.

"Madeline, I just can't understand why you don't behave yourself! You cannot just run around and do whatever you please!" Edward chided.

"Stop trying to pull a Jasper on me, okay?" she snapped.

Emmett laughed, while Edward turned around in his seat and looked at her.

"Do you even have the slightest idea why he admonishes you so much?"

"He's ... bored?" Maddie guessed.

"No." Edward smirked. "He is concerned you might stray from the straight and narrow."

"What?"

"Look, he has a hard time controlling his thirst. He doesn't want that to happen to you."

Maddie was taken aback by what Edward just said, because it seemed so weird to her that it made her frown. "But I have never even tried human blood."

"I am aware of that. Jasper assumes that as long as Esme and Carlisle keep strict discipline, you would learn more self-control, which would help you keep it that way."

"This is stupid. Just because he struggles doesn't mean I do, too." Then she added, "And pets have nothing to do with blood!"

"That was just one of the reasons, Maddie. And he doesn't know about your pets."

"Well, just so you know: I tried to take them back, but the store was closed."

Emmett spoke again. "Maddie, you did? You have to tell Carlisle, that might get you out of trouble!"

And Edward laughed. "No, it won't. He might think you just wanted to continue hiding this from them. Besides, the way you talked to them right now didn't show any remorse," Edward remarked.

Reaching the pet store after half an hour, they got out and Emmett took the box with the rats.

Edward held the entrance door for his two siblings and they stepped inside. The little bell rang.

"How can I help you?" The ugly guy said - the one Maddie had met at the beginning of the week. His voice was a little muffled, and his face looked slightly deformed - his cheeks were oddly swollen.

"What happened to _you_?" Maddie asked rudely while tilting her head to the side.

"Mad ...," Emmett quietly warned.

"You mean this, little one?" The guy pointed to his face. "I went to the dentist two days ago to get my teeth fixed."

Maddie looked at him in disbelief.

Huh.

So this fucking stupid store was closed because of ... _her?_ Aw, hell.

"Remember: Always brush your teeth so this won't happen to you," the guy said to Maddie, trying to sound jokingly.

"Yeah, I'll keep it in mind," Maddie said with distaste. He was still gross, but at least not as much as before.

Edward cleared his throat. "We would like to ask you to take these rodents back. You sold them to our sister, even though our parents did not give their consent."

He looked confused. "I have never seen your sister in my life. And I wouldn't sell animals to children."

Emmett and Edward looked at Maddie, who just rolled her eyes.

She took a step forward, reached over the counter and touched the pet store owner's hand. "Zone out," she barked.

She didn't really want to touch him, but Emmett was with them and he didn't know she could do this without touching. Besides, this guy had followed through with her orders, so he was showered and was wearing clean clothes for a change.

"Madeline, was this really necessary?" Edward asked, slightly annoyed.

"Yes," she groaned and started to walk through the store to look at the animals.

"Looking for a new one already?"

"It's just not fair that I cannot have a pet," she replied while skimming her hand over the shelves holding the cages and terrariums.

"Didn't you have that discussion with Carlisle and Esme? They explained to you in great detail why it isn't possible. Besides, you were already starting to get bored with these ones."

"_Back in my head?_" she asked while turning on her heel to look at Edward, pushing her tongue against the inside of her cheek in annoyance.

"I can read your mind again, yes," Edward confirmed.

"Oh goodie ..."

"Sorry to interrupt, but could we put these back in the cage?" Emmett asked with raised eyebrows, still holding the box.

Maddie folded her arms, but then stalked over to the back of the store to show Emmett the rat cage.

"Are you sure we can't keep 'em? We could hide 'em somewhere or -"

Emmett interrupted her immediately. "Tiny. No, we cannot keep them."

"I never get to have _anything_. All I ever hear is 'No'."

Emmett rubbed her back comfortingly. "Come now, put them back."

After a moment, Maddie unfolded her arms and did as she was told.

She looked so sad.

Before they could leave the store, Edward said, "Madeline? I think you forgot something."

"Oops..." She uttered, but did not sound like she had indeed forgot. She walked back to the guy, touched him and said, "You have never seen us here, now come back."

They didn't wait for him to come around, but left the store and hopped into Emmett's jeep.

"Emmy? Can't you just take me somewhere else until Mom and Dad have calmed down?" Maddie whined in a very, very sad tone.

"Tiny, please don't ask this from me," Emmett replied with a pained expression on his face.

"But I'll get whacked, you have to help me," she whined again, sounding close to tears, even though she wasn't.

Edward butted in to prevent Maddie from manipulating Emmett. "Madeline, if I remember rightly, you willfully disobeyed their instructions. Don't you think you should be punished for that?"

She didn't answer his question.

"Mom was so mad. Do you know what she'll do?" Maddie already knew what to expect from Carlisle ... but Esme?

"No, she hadn't decided on anything before we left," Edward replied, his voice free of emotion.

* * *

><p>Emmett parked his car in the garage right next to Rose's. He and Edward got out, but Maddie remained seated.<p>

Edward sighed and opened her door. "We are home, get out."

But Maddie just pushed her bottom lip forward and looked at the floor.

"Sitting here pouting doesn't change anything, so stop it," he ordered.

Emmett pushed Edward lightly away with his shoulder. "Tiny, come," he said softly and held his hand out for Maddie to take.

She took her eyes away from the floor and instead looked at him with big, sad eyes.

"Aw, don't look at me like that ... come now."

She slowly got up and took Emmett's hand.

Edward walked ahead into the kitchen and Emmett and Maddie followed.

They were immediately greeted by Esme.

"Did she cause any trouble?" she asked and looked back and forth between Edward and Emmett.

"Nope, everything was fine," Emmett said quickly before Edward could utter a single word.

"I am glad to hear that," she replied, then looked at Maddie. "Follow me, I would like to talk to you."

But Maddie clutched Emmett's hand tighter and shook her head.

Esme sighed. "Madeline, you're not serious, are you?"

"I want Rose," Maddie said in a little voice.

Since Edward had already left the room, it was only Emmett and Esme who raised their eyebrows at Maddie's words.

"You wish to speak to Rose?" Esme asked her daughter.

Maddie nodded her head.

"All right, come find me when you two are done talking." She hadn't planned to postpone the talk, but when Maddie was like that, she didn't want to keep her from seeing Rosalie. They were very close, after all, and Maddie trusted Rosalie. It happened from time to time that Maddie was so upset that only her eldest sister could cheer her up again. So, just like now, letting Maddie see Rose would help her dealing with her emotions and in the end everyone would benefit from that.

"Okay, Mommy."

Emmett, who still held Maddie's hand, led her up the stairs to his and Rosalie's room.

"Rose?" he called before opening the door.

Rose walked out of her walk-in closet, holding up a dress on a hanger and looking at it. "Yes?" she asked without taking her eyes off the dress.

When he didn't answer, she looked up.

The way Emmett grimaced and Maddie looked all sad told her what was going on.

She draped the dress over an armchair and walked over to them.

"It's okay, don't worry," she told Emmett, who then let go of his little sister's hand and gave her shoulder a rub.

After sharing a little kiss with Rose, he left the room and closed the door to grant them some privacy.

"What is bothering you?" Rosalie asked and pulled Maddie along to sit on the bed with her.

Maddie played with the hem of the sweater she wore, so Rose immobilised her sister's hands with hers.

"You brought animals home, even though you were not allowed to have them, I know," she remarked after a moment because Maddie didn't say anything.

"It's just not fair," Maddie complained.

"Maddie," Rose said while tucking a strand of hair behind Maddie's ear, "it is not fair of you to keep animals when they are afraid of you. You let them suffer that way."

"I just wanted to have them to watch, I wasn't going to pet them," Maddie explained without looking up from the floor.

"That makes no difference, they sense your presence."

Maddie looked up then and asked in a distraught voice, "When does it get better?"

Rose stared at her sister, but then understood what she was saying.

"I know you don't like to hear it, but you are still too young to have the same liberties we have," she explained, still the same softness in her voice like before.

"But how much longer?"

"I cannot tell you, I don't know."

Maddie leaned against her older sister, who put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"We all had to go through this," Rosalie then tried to soothe her.

"But you were never in real trouble with Esme or Carlisle," Maddie whined.

Rosalie pulled away, confused. "What makes you think that?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, silly, silly Maddie. We were all quick-tempered and acted without thinking. Each and every one of us. Nobody is fond of strict rules, we weren't either," she explained while stroking her sister's hair.

"Really?"

Rose chuckled, then nodded her head. "Would you like to know what got Emmett in deep trouble with Esme once?"

"What did he do?" Maddie's eyes lit up.

"He told you that he got attacked by a bear before he got changed, didn't he? Well, ever since, he is a little obsessed with bears. He wanted to collect their heads as trophies every time he hunted one down," she said while making a disgusted face.

Maddie giggled. _That story was bound to be good!_

"But naturally, Esme didn't like having big, smelly bear heads in the house and forbid him from bringing them home."

Maddie nodded; she could imagine that her mother didn't like that.

"So Emmett seized the chance to do as he pleased when Carlisle and Esme were traveling to celebrate their anniversary. He skinned a dead bear that he had just fed on, and took its hide back home."

It sounded slightly disgusting, but still, Maddie listened intently. She liked yucky stories.

"He decided that since Esme hadn't said anything about a bear rug, he could bring one home and put it into the living room."

"Does he know how to tan properly?"

Rose smirked. "No."

"Uh-oh."

"Yes. Edward and I told him he would be in trouble, but he wouldn't listen. He thought he outsmarted Carlisle and Esme, because, his words: _They weren't specific enough._"

"What happened then?"

"Well, what do you think happened then? They came back home and were immediately hit by a foul smell, coming from the living room. Esme looked like she was going to have a heart attack when she saw the mauled bear skin lying on the wooden floor of her pristine living room."

"What did she do?"

"She was beside herself. She lectured Emmett for nearly an hour and then Carlisle took him to his office. Later that day, Emmett had to get rid of the bear hide and then scrub the floor every day for two weeks. It didn't help his situation to tell Esme that is was _actually her fault_, obviously."

"I don't wanna scrub the floor every day for two weeks," Maddie whined.

"Maddie, he had stained the floor, you didn't. So why would Esme make you scrub it?"

"I don't know, but she was mad."

"And can't you see why?" Rosalie asked her sister, then explained further. "Her home is her castle. It is the only place where we can be our normal selves without having to mind how we act like we do around humans. She is a perfectionist and wants to keep everything as neat as possible, so we all can relax and feel at home here. She does it for us."

"She has the cleaning bug," Maddie grumbled.

Rosalie shrugged, then laughed. "Yes, she does."

"What do I do now?"

"You will go find her and apologise," Rose stated matter-of-factly.

"But she and Carlisle will punish me."

"But you already knew that when you bought the rats, didn't you?"

When Maddie didn't say anything, Rose continued. "Come on, it'll be over with a lot quicker if you just face what is coming to you."

"I don't like getting smacked."

"I'd be very much concerned if you'd like it," she replied and nudged her sister in the side.

"Rosie, can't you talk to them?" Maddie queried, sulky-looking.

"No, I can't. They forbid you from having pets and you just got them anyways, even though you knew you'd be in trouble if they found out."

* * *

><p>Maddie slowly slunk down the stairs after she had stayed with Rose for a while and she wasn't as nervous as before anymore. Talking to Rose had helped - <em>what<em> she had told her had helped. Now she knew that she wasn't the only one who got in trouble so much, all of them had been like her.

And she so had to ask Emmett to tell her the bear-story again, she was desperate to get his point of view on this. Her brother could tell awesome stories, even though she sometimes got the feeling that he added stuff that wasn't necessarily true ... but it was still funny as hell.

"Mom?" Maddie carefully asked when she had reached the foot of the stairs.

"I'm in the dining room, Madeline."

Maddie walked on and entered said room.

Esme sat at the table, legs crossed, and closed a magazine before pushing it away from herself and looking up at her daughter.

"Sit down, Madeline, I would like to talk to you," she said and gestured to a chair next to her.

Maddie hesitated for a short moment, then approached the table and sat down on the chair Esme had indicated.

"I am disappointed that you would betray our trust like that." Woah, Esme cut right to the chase of the matter.

Maddie bit her lip. She could deal with yelling, but not with them being all calm and saying things like she disappointed them.

"Madeline, we did not forbid you to have pets because we wanted to make you miserable. But if you keep animals, you make _them_ miserable."

"Mom, I understand."

Esme frowned. "What do you understand, dear?"

"Rose explained it to me. I shouldn't have done it, it was a mistake. I'm really sorry about all that and that I upset you, but I swear they didn't touch the floor or anything, everything is still clean!" Maddie said with wide eyes.

Esme was still frowning, then cleared her throat. "Maddie ... what exactly did Rose tell you?"

"Well, she told me why I sometimes have trouble listening to you. She said everybody was struggling at my age. So please, Mom, don't be mad at me anymore. I didn't buy them to spite you."

"Oh, honey, I know you didn't," she cooed and hugged Maddie. She couldn't be angry with her for long, and was glad that she understood what she did wrong and didn't put up a fuss.

"But you have to understand that I cannot ignore the fact that you disobeyed us," Esme told her in a gentle voice.

Maddie nodded her head.

Esme took Maddie's hands in hers. "This is what is going to happen: I want you to do household chores for two weeks. When I tell you to do something, you do it immediately."

"Two whole weeks?"

"What else does two weeks mean, hm, honey?" Esme queried with raised eyebrows.

"Okay. But you are not mad at me anymore ... right, Mommy?"

Esme smiled at her. "No, baby, I'm not."

"What about Dad?"

"Well, I advise you to make an apology to your father. He is not impressed with your behaviour."

Maddie squirmed in her seat. "Will he ... you know?"

Esme sighed. "To be honest: Yes, but the way you behaved you were already expecting it, am I right?"

Maddie groaned, but nodded her head.

"Off you go then, he is waiting in his office for you."

Oh great, the office.

Maddie left the room after getting hugged by her Mom once more and ascended the stairs. The door to Carlisle's office was ajar, so Maddie came to a halt in the doorway and lightly knocked on the open door.

Carlisle looked up. "Madeline," he said, "did you take the rats back to the pet shop?"

Maddie nodded her head.

"Any trouble?"

"No, Sir."

"I am glad to hear that," he said and stood up from his seat. He approached his daughter, then told her to follow him.

They walked up the stairs and straight into Maddie's room.

Maddie hopped onto her bed, already knowing what was going to happen now.

Lecture, then smacking - she knew the drill.

"You already talked to your mother, I assume," he stated after seating himself on Maddie's desk chair which he had put in front of his daughter so he could face her.

"Yes, Sir."

"Do you understand why she punished you?" he queried.

"I do. I upset her by bringing animals home."

"What else, Maddie?" Carlisle asked.

"I disobeyed both of you by buying the pets in the first place," Maddie muttered.

"Yes, you did. You can expect a spanking for this."

"Yes, Sir." That wasn't exactly a surprise.

"Now. What else did you do?"

"I lied to you," Maddie admitted.

"What did you lie about?"

Maddie was that close to rolling her eyes - she hated that her father always cross-questioned her.

She let out a puff of air. "I lied about what I did at school and about leaving the school grounds."

"Why was that wrong?"

"Lying is always wrong?" she tried. That was a good answer, wasn't it?

Carlisle nodded. "Yes, it is. And we wish to know where you are _at all times_, please understand that. It is so very important in case something might happen. We need to be able to find you."

"I understand. Dad, I was just so fed up with all the rules! You're crushing me!" Maddie whined.

"Madeline, trust me when I say that I understand what you are going through. But we still have to inflict rules on you. You'll gain more freedom of choice over time, I promise."

Maddie would have complained and fussed now, but she still had Rose's words in mind. So she nodded her head and kept her mouth shut.

"I want you to remember your appalling behaviour earlier today. That will not go unpunished, either. You have been very disrespectful towards me and your mother, and I will not tolerate that. You know better."

"Yes, Sir," Maddie replied while hanging her head.

"This will add to your spanking that you'll receive today."

"Okay."

"So let us address your punishment for lying," Carlisle suggested.

"But I'm grounded, you grounded me for that," Maddie tried to reason with him.

"No no no, you know full well that I grounded you for cutting class. But you lied about that to me. Like you said, you left the school grounds and purchased animals that you were not allowed to have."

Maddie squirmed; she didn't like the sound of that. Another punishment? Hell, how much more?

"You know how your mother and I feel about lying. You leave me no choice but to give you a spanking for that."

Maddie's jaw dropped. "Two?"

"Yes, Madeline. Your behaviour warrants two separate corrections."

"But ... I have to do chores for two weeks!"

"I am quite aware of that," Carlisle commented.

"But ... I cannot take two s-sp .. two of that!" She definitely didn't like that word. And she didn't like two spankings ... been there, done that. It was horrible, even though she got off lightly the second time. But that wouldn't happen again, right?

"Yes, you can and you will. I will administer one today for going behind our backs and purchasing animals and for your disrespect, and one tomorrow for lying to my face."

"Can Emmett come up afterwards?" Maddie carefully asked. She didn't know if she was confined to her room when this was over.

"Of course, dear. The moment he and the others come back home."

Maddie nodded her head. There was nothing more to say now, except for ...

"Daddy? I'm sorry."

"I know, princess, so let's get this over with real quick, shall we?"

"Okay," Maddie said, even though she knew it wouldn't be over with _real quick_. She stood up from her bed.

Carlisle put Maddie's chair back under her desk, then walked to the bed and took Maddie's seat.

Maddie lightly pulled with her thumb and index finger at her sweatpants, looking questioningly at her Dad.

Carlisle nodded his head.

_Hell._

So Maddie pushed them down a bit before being pulled over her Dad's knees.

What she had anticipated but still hoped wouldn't happen, happened.

She felt her panties being tugged down along her sweatpants - all the way down to her knees.

The next moments would suck so bad.

"Are you ready?" Carlisle asked while shifting her forward a bit, so she was more comfortable with her upper body resting on the bed and he could take accurate aim.

"Uh-huh." was all Maddie managed to utter.

And then she felt the first sharp smack landing on her bottom. More followed, and every time her father's hand cracked down on her bare butt, the pain got worse.

She couldn't help but squirm, trying to get off Carlisle's lap, but the hold he had on her waist kept her exactly where she was. After a dozen slaps she couldn't suppress the cries that were forming in her throat anymore and venom leaked from her eyes.

But Carlisle was far from done. He kept his steady rhythm of spanks on her buttocks, until he shifted her forward on the bed. Her eyes opened wide when she realised what was going to happen next. "No, no no! Daddy, please! I'm sorry!" she shouted in a feeble attempt to stop him.

"Almost done, Maddie, almost done," he said, trying to calm her. But the only thing that would help right now, would be to speed up a little and apply the last smacks aimed to her sit spots in quick succession.

He did so while she sobbed, then he immediately started rubbing circles on her back, glad that it was over.

There.

Maddie didn't even realise it was over with, until she slowly became aware of a hand rubbing her back comfortingly instead of cracking down on her behind.

She made to get up, so Carlisle pulled her panties and pants back up, which brought a fit of hissing, and then helped her stand.

She rubbed at her eyes; the thick venom tears that hadn't yet ceased to leak from her eyes stung.

"It's over, honey, shhh, it's over," Carlisle cooed and stroked her hair before embracing her in his arms.

She let her head rest against his chest; the feeling of her Dad rubbing her back calmed her gradually.

She pulled away a bit to look at him with her glossy eyes, sniffling once more. "Are you still mad at me?" she asked in a subdued voice.

"No, princess, you're forgiven. Don't think about it anymore."

Well easier said than done ... her butt hurt something awful and she still had another smacking coming, already scheduled for the next day. Ugh.

She tried to rub the sting away, but winced the moment her hand lightly touched her behind.

Ugh, that was definitely as bad as the last time she got two spankings.

"Do you want to lie down?"

"I will in a moment, I just need to ... change." Well, her sweatpants were fine ... but she wanted to get rid of her panties underneath. They were to tight on her butt right now and it hurt!

"I understand. Shall I come back in when you are done?"

"Can Emmett come in?"

He nodded. "I'll go looking for him. Are you all right with me leaving now?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she said while grimacing.

Carlisle gave her a little smile and hugged her again. "I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you, too," she replied and walked stiffly over to her closet.

Carlisle left the room and closed the door behind himself to go looking for Emmett just like he had promised her.

* * *

><p><strong>I just had to add some Rose in this one :) I think I couldn't have done the chapter without her.<strong>

**Sooo ... happy with the result? REVIEW and tell me! **


	37. Chapter 37

**Hey there!**

**Ok, long author's note ahead ...**

**I haven't been updating for a while because I'm busy with school stuff. Yes, it eats away my time and it isn't helping that I am in a shitload of trouble at school (I kid you not). Apparently I tend to be bad at times, too :-/ ****But I swear, most of the stuff isn't even my fault! **

**So ... it'll take about a month until I have all this mess sorted out, and then I am still busy with school (Gah! I even have classes on Friday and !Saturday! **What is wrong with these people?** )**

**In addition ... well, can't say No to a party. Being a student does that to you, haha.**

**So, my dear readers, I apologise for the delay and**** I didn't mean to steal your time, just to inform you ... enjoy reading the chapter now!**

**Oh, before I forget: Thank you, thank you, thank you for your reviews! I love every single one of them, so keep 'em coming ;-) **

* * *

><p>"Come in, Em!" Maddie called from her position on the bed when she heard a knock on her door.<p>

She was lying on her stomach, hugging a pillow to herself to rest her head on.

"You wanted to see me?" Emmett asked and peeked into the room, "You're not naked, are you?"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "No, I am not." She already had a feeling that he would tease her about what she had said to him while she was busy playing gameboy the day before.

So Emmett walked towards her, then sat on the floor next to the bed, so he could be face to face with his sister.

"Cheer me up," she begged with puppy dog eyes.

"That bad, huh?" he asked and grimaced. Getting spanked wasn't fun.

"I swear my butt is freaking pink ... shouldn't have gone hunting today. I have the feeling that it makes it worse," she groaned and buried her face in the pillow.

"That might be, but you'll heal quicker, too. And, well ... you did screw up," he commented.

"Not helping," she groaned again, her voice muffled by the pillow. But then she suddenly looked up and smiled sneakily. "You know what would help?"

"What?" he asked and pulled at a strand of her hair.

"A story."

Emmett thought for a moment. "Wanna know why I chose a Jeep?"

"No."

"Um ... how awesome my basketball skills are?" he offered.

"No!" Of course he was good at basketball - he was huge! Maddie had stopped playing with him ... every time she had the ball, he just threw her over his shoulder and dunked the stupid thing himself - and then he laughed his ass off. Ugh.

Emmett perked his eyebrows up and looked at her expectantly. _What did she want?_

"A little bird told me that you're crazy about collecting body parts of dead bears."

Emmett blinked owlishly before bursting out laughing. "Did Rose tell you?"

Maddie smiled widely, then looked sideways and shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh she did, she did, ...," he remarked knowingly and waved a finger around. "But it's cool, it was fun, after all... except for the whoopin' and the scrubbing."

"Tell me?"

"Sure," he ruffled her hair until he was certain that it was utterly tousled and she slapped at his hand, trying to get him to stop. She couldn't move too much, and Emmett knew that. That's why he was being mean to her!

"I'll make you wear a tutu to school if you don't stop!" Maddie threatened and playfully glared at her big brother.

Well, that indeed made him stop; his mouth was formed a perfect O.

"You wouldn't, Tiny, now would you?"

"Wanna find out?" she asked and snorted with laughter at his sudden nervousness. "No, Emmy," she added. She would never do something like that to Emmett ... but to Jasper would be fun.

Then Emmett started to tell her how he wrestled with huge bears and their parents' ignorance of the beautiful art of collecting dead bear heads.

They had a good time and settled for watching a movie in the living room with the rest of the family later that day. It was rare that all of them watched a movie together, what with all their different tastes.

The girls, well except for Maddie, wanted to watch something romantic, whereas the guys were in the mood for an action movie. Jasper was fond of movies of epic battles, so he suggested that. Edward watched movies with a good soundtrack and complained about everything else, whereas Maddie ... she liked zombies.

So they chose a comedy for everyone to watch. It was the best compromise Carlisle could come up with.

And the movie was indeed really funny.

Every single time something silly happened, Emmett nudged Rose in the side when she wasn't laughing, as if she wasn't getting the joke or something. After the tenth time, however, she mouthed something to him and he immediately stopped, looking a bit panicky. Maddie liked how Rose could make Emmett react that way, but when she asked her about what she had said to Emmett, she just got patted on the head.

* * *

><p>Sunday went by nice and quiet ... that was until noon.<p>

Why?

Because around noon, Carlisle stepped into the living room, saying something to effectively ruin Maddie's day.

"Maddie?"

"Huh?" she answered without looking up, her eyes fixed on the TV screen.

"Come with me, it's time."

She immediately froze, stopping to play with the remote in her hand.

"Ooohh ...," she moaned and remained lying on her stomach on the couch, hoping he would just go away.

But Carlisle closed the distance in a couple of long strides and leaned over the backrest of the couch to look at his daughter.

"Maddie?" he asked again.

So what did Maddie do?

She grabbed a pillow and pressed it over her head, trying to cut off her father's voice.

Didn't work - he just spoke louder.

"Madeline? Get up now, come."

"Can't we just skip it? This one time?" she whined from under the pillow.

"What do you think?"

"I think you'll say No ...," Maddie groaned and put the pillow next to herself on the couch.

Carlisle took the remote from her hand and switched the TV off, before saying, "Very good. Follow me please, I want to get it over with as much as you do."

Well, she would have preferred for the second dose to be cancelled instead of over with, but whining wouldn't help right now, obviously.

She rolled off the couch and trudged after her father who led the way to her room.

He held the door for her, letting her step into the room, before closing it and looking at Maddie.

"Don't be upset with me, Madeline, you know what led to this second punishment."

Carlisle passed her on his way to the bed. Sitting down and rolling up his sleeves, he asked, "Why are you about to receive this punishment?"

He was still busy with his freaking sleeves, so Maddie's eye-rolling wasn't noticed.

She exhaled. "Because I lied to you."

"What did you lie about?" He looked up.

She just stared at him, clearly annoyed.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows, still waiting for an answer.

"I'm waiting," he said after another round of silence.

Maddie huffed. "We already talked about that yesterday."

"So I can assume that you remember what exactly that was."

"Yeah. Do you?" she snapped.

"Madeline, don't be insolent with me. I am merely asking you, so I can be sure you understand why you are about to be disciplined."

"I do understand why."

"Then tell me," he prompted.

Maddie seemed to be on edge. "Seriously?"

"Would you please just answer my question?"

"Fine," she groaned. "I wasn't honest about what I did at this crappy school and about leaving the school grounds. _Happy?_"

"I don't like your tone of voice, young lady."

"I apologise," she replied, but didn't sound like she really meant it.

Carlisle sighed.

"Come here."

Reluctantly, Maddie stepped forward until she reached her father.

He seized her by the upper arm and guided her over his lap.

Since she was wearing a pair of sweatpants, Carlisle had no trouble pulling them down to her knees.

But at least her panties stayed in place, covering her behind.

Maddie didn't have much time to be grateful about keeping her underwear, because her father's hand smacked her bottom hard, taking her by surprise. She jerked forwards, but with the grip Carlisle had on her waist, she didn't get very far.

Being kept firmly in place, she had to endure the numerous spanks that came dashing down, igniting a fire that hadn't been there since the day before.

Maddie wondered what was worse: The noise the smacks made or the smacks themselves.

When another mean slap hit her right butt cheek, she decided that the noise, although scary, definitely wasn't as bad as the pain.

Another painful swat, as if to back that realisation up. _Yup, who cared about the noise..._

And then she was pushed forward - she knew what to expect and whimpered in a feeble attempt to get Carlisle to stop.

Six fierce slaps to the area where butt met thighs later and it finally stopped.

Maddie had really tried to remain stoic during that spanking, but still, little sobs escaped her lips.

Carlisle pulled her sweatpants back up, covering her behind, then pulled her up to let her sit on his lap, hugging her close.

"Are we done now?" she asked in a shaky voice, reaching back to rub at her butt.

While rubbing her back, Carlisle answered, "Yes, dear, it is over."

"Phew." She visibly relaxed, well, as much as she could with a smarting behind.

He smirked slightly.

"Can I watch TV?" Maddie asked after another moment and looked up at her father.

"Now?"

"No, not right now. But after that." She made a face. After that meant, when she would feel like sitting again.

"Sure, honey, you'll have the TV all to yourself."

She indeed had. Everybody else had left the house, after all.

Maddie bit her lip, before shyly asking, "Can I get a new one for my room?"

Carlisle thought about it. "That depends. Will you destroy it again?"

"No."

"I'll think about it. Rest now."

"Can it be a little bigger than the last one?" she queried, hoping he would say yes.

"You can make it your wish, and then you might get one for Christmas."

"Christmas? But that's another month!"

"Then you can enjoy the pleasant anticipation," he smiled at her and winked.

"Oooh ... but I thought I'd get ice skates for Christmas." Maddie looked a little distressed; she had wished for ice skates for a while now so she could play hockey with Emmett.

"You might get more than one present, sweetheart."

Maddie's eyes grew big. "Really?"

Carlisle chuckled. "Yes, dear."

"Okay, then I'll wait in pleasant anticipation." She smiled and her eyes began to gleam. It was going to be their first Christmas together, and now she had the feeling that Esme and Carlisle wanted to make it special.

"But make sure you behave! Naughty children don't get to have presents," he reminded her with a little smirk on his lips.

"Of course," she replied, completely serious, and nodded her head.

* * *

><p>"Madeline! For the fifth time now: Come downstairs so we can leave!" Carlisle called from the kitchen, growing impatient. He drummed his fingers on the counter until Esme put her hand over his, calming him with this gesture.<p>

Maddie groaned, and was still groaning when she entered the room, dressed in her uniform and her backpack in hand.

"Can I stay home? School's gonna be so _boring,_" she said, looking at her parents miserably.

"It won't be boring, dear. Listen to your teachers and you'll see how exciting your subjects are," Esme encouraged her daughter, who just looked even more miserable then.

"It's way to early by the way," Maddie grumbled and kicked lightly against the cabinet under the sink, which earned her an admonishing look from her mother.

"Edward is driving with us. We'll give him a ride to the auto repair shop, so he can pick up his Volvo," Carlisle explained.

"I call shotgun!" Maddie shouted and stormed into the garage without even saying goodbye to Esme.

"_Hey!_"

"Yes?" Edward asked with raised eyebrows, sitting in the passenger seat of Carlisle's black Mercedes and looking at Maddie. She had stopped dead the moment she realised that her brother was occupying the very seat she wanted to sit in.

"I called shotgun, you go sit in the back!"

"I was here on time, unlike you. You had your chance."

"Maddie, get in the car, we need to leave," Carlisle said when he entered the garage, carrying his bag in one hand and the keys in the other.

He put his bag in the trunk, then went around the car to open the driver's door. But before opening it, he looked up because Maddie spoke again.

"I wanna sit in the front," she stated petulantly.

"Edward was quicker than you, and it is only for ten minutes, dear. Now get in."

"But -"

"Get in, _now,_" Carlisle said with finality and seated himself in the driver's seat.

If looks could kill ... Maddie glared at Edward, and puckered her lips, mocking his stupid facial expression.

Huh. The fucker just _smirked_ at her.

Getting in the back seat and slamming the door shut, she just folded her arms tightly across her chest and continued to glare at Edward sitting in front of her.

"Careful with the door," Edward remarked with a smirk.

"I don't want to hear any bickering, you two," Carlisle warned while steering his car out of the garage; his voice still not as strict as it could be.

"Maddie isn't wearing a seatbelt," Edward remarked and looked out of the window.

Carlisle glanced at his daughter sitting behind Edward. "Maddie? Buckle up, please."

"But-"

"Safety first, Madeline," Edward said.

"Enough," Carlisle said to his son sitting next to him in the passenger seat, then addressed both of them. "I told you I don't want to hear any bickering, clear?"

A very low growl rumbled in Maddie's chest, put the purring of the engine was luckily louder than the noise of displeasure she made. She begrudgingly pulled the seatbelt over her chest and fastened it.

They drove down the winding path to reach the street when Maddie suddenly said, "He started it."

"What did I start?" Edward asked, immediately reacting to what his sister said.

"_What did I start?_" Maddie aped him.

Edward narrowed his eyes and looked out of the window. "Stop acting like a child."

"_Stop acting like a child._"

He shook his head. "This is ridiculous."

"_This is ridiculous._"

Edward huffed.

Maddie huffed.

"STOP IT!" Edward suddenly roared. Yes, he wasn't known for having an even temper.

Carlisle was annoyed. "How about both of you stop it!" That wasn't a request, obviously.

Edward looked completely gobsmacked at his father's interjection. "Carlisle! You know she started it!"

Maddie snorted; it was _so_ easy to get a rise out of Edward.

"Don't let your sister provoke you, Edward," Carlisle admonished.

"Easy for you to say," he murmured in response.

Seeing that Edward was now in a bad mood and Maddie probably smug, he suggested: "How about we drive in silence?"

"Fine with me, I'm not interested in what this horrid, little child has to say anyway," Edward said snidely and crossed his arms.

"Not another word," Carlisle warned, shooting Edward a sideways glance.

Maddie would never _ever_ defy her father, so she decided to do something ... non-verbal. He only said they shouldn't talk, right?

She braced her feet against the back of Edward's seat and then let loose again.

Now that was fun!

Edward clenched his jaw, but remained silent, trying to ignore Maddie's provocations.

So she did it again, and he clenched his jaw even tighter.

Another push, and he exploded. "YOU LITTLE -"

Carlisle was indignant at his son's yelling. "Edward!"

"She's kicking against the seat!"

"No, I'm not!" Maddie defended herself. It wasn't kicking, _idiot._

"Yes, you are!" he shouted and turned in his seat to glare at his innocent, little sister.

Maddie tried so hard not to laugh at stupid Edward - he really tattled like a toddler.

"Enough, we are almost there," Carlisle said, an edge to his voice clearly detectable now.

Edward grumbled and scowled - Maddie had effectively ruined his morning.

_Tee-hee._

Carlisle stopped the car in front of the garage a few moments later, and before Edward could get out, Maddie kicked against the back of his seat. "That's a kick, fathead."

"Carlisle," Edward said, prompting a reaction from their father. How could he just sit there and watch while Maddie was being a brat?

"Go get your car, son, I'll see you tonight. Have a nice day."

"You, too," Edward replied and left.

_Finally!_

Maddie opened the back door, because she wanted to sit in the passenger seat now.

But before she could get out of the car, Carlisle spoke up. "Madeline, you remain seated back there."

Maddie's jaw dropped. "But -"

In order to speed things up, he turned around to look at Maddie, his voice strict. "I know that you have been teasing your brother. Now close the door so we can drive on."

"So not fair," Maddie grumbled and shut the door again.

* * *

><p>"How did it go?" Becca whispered to Maddie who had just sat down at her table. They sat next to each other, which made it easier to talk during lessons.<p>

Their math teacher began the lesson at that moment and were supposed to be quiet.

"What?" Maddie looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"Your rats! Did you bring them back here?" she whispered again, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Nope, my Mom found them and I had to take them back to the store," Maddie grumbled.

Becca eyed their teacher to make sure they wouldn't get caught talking. "Oh, sorry," she whispered when she was sure he wasn't looking.

Shrugging one shoulder, Maddie replied, "Oh well, it's all right, I guess."

"Were you in trouble?"

Maddie had to roll her eyes at that. "Dumb question, Becca." Two ass beatings, a grounding and chores. What a great weekend that had been.

Becca looked unsure then, but decided to ask anyways. "Are you grounded?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry."

"Whatever, I'm used to it," Maddie replied casually and added, "And it's only till next week."

Becca nodded her head then, amazed at how lenient Maddie's parents were.

If she only knew ...

* * *

><p><strong>I just changed this chapter and added the car part. I just didn't want to post the original chapter. It had some ideas for new chapters in it, but I am in the mood for Christmas chapters instead, weeee! Unfortunately it is too early for that, so ... you just have to be patient until I update again ... next month or something.<strong>

**REVIEW, please :-)**


	38. Chapter 38

**Um ... sorry?**

**I haven't posted a chapter for this story in a while and the next update will be in two weeks. Probably.**

**But go ahead and read now!**

**Some of you might not like it, but I felt like it was time for that :-/ **

* * *

><p>"Daddy?" Maddie asked sweetly with her hands behind her back and big puppy dog eyes. It was Saturday and she was utterly bored.<p>

"Yes, sweetheart?" Carlisle replied and looked up from the newspaper he was currently reading.

"Can I go to the movies with Emmett?"

"No, you may not. Ask him if he could wait until next week," Carlisle told her.

Making a face, Maddie said, "He won't. He said he's bored and wants to go today."

"Then maybe he'll take you next week, even though he already watched the movie before."

"But he said if he doesn't like the movie, then he won't," she replied and tilted her head to the side, waiting for her Dad to give in.

"Maybe somebody else can take you to see it, then."

Maddie groaned. "No, they don't wanna watch it."

"Sweetie, how about you wait until we can purchase it on DVD? Then you can watch it alone if you'd like," he suggested.

"But I cannot watch it alone," she whined, and seeing the perplexed look on her father's face, she explained why. "It has got puppets in it ... and they creep me out."

Carlisle sighed. "Then I will take you th see it next week."

"No, I wanna watch it with Emmett!" she said quick like a shot.

She didn't mind going to the movies with her father, but he wouldn't like this explicit one... and probably forbid her from seeing it. It got more f-bombs and sexual scenes than porn ... at least that was what she had read about it on the Internet. In addition, he would find out that she had to make the cashier give her the ticket, because she was actually too young to watch it. No thanks, she preferred to go with Emmett.

He held his hands up while saying, "I cannot help you then."

"Why can't I go today?"

"Because you are grounded," Carlisle told her matter-of-factly.

"I'm always grounded," she grumbled in response and lightly kicked against the couch her Dad was sitting on.

He gave her an admonishing look, before telling her, "Then you should behave more often."

Good advise, ugh.

"How, Dad, _how_? Everything I do is considered misbehaving because you have a million stupid rules for me!"

Tiredly rubbing his forehead, he then said, "We talked about this countless times. You know why we set rules for you."

"Come on! Even prisoners are released early for good behaviour, just let me go!" she demanded.

"No," he replied with finality in his voice and picked the newspaper lying in his lap back up to read some more.

Naturally, Maddie didn't like that the talk was over and she still wasn't allowed to go.

She narrowed her eyes then, saying, "I'm going with Emmett today, whether you like it or not."

Well, that made him look up again.

"_Madeline,_" he warned.

Maddie glared at him a moment longer, but then stomped her foot in frustration before walking noisily up the stairs to her room.

_How unfair was that?_ It was beyond frustrating that she could never go out and have fun.

"I take it you aren't allowed to come?" Emmett asked from the hallway, looking into his sister's room. He watched her standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed tightly over her chest and breathing heavily. She still had a little trouble controlling her anger, but at least she didn't break anything just now.

"It's not fair."

"Maybe the movie sucks, it'll spare you the frustration," Emmett tried to calm her.

"I'll just make him letting me go," she said with determination in her voice, storming towards her door.

"Tiny, no," Emmett stopped her before she could leave her room.

"Why not? He isn't being fair, so why should I be?"

"You are grounded, you brought it on yourself."

"Emmett, don't you get it? I'm _never_ allowed to leave the house, it is like I'm constantly grounded! And now I am just asking to join you for two small hours and even that is forbidden."

"Come on, don't be like that. Your grounding ends on ... what? Sunday? Then you can go out again."

"Yes, but only if somebody accompanies me. What am I, a toddler?"

"It'll get better with time, Tiny, don't let it ruin your mood now. I'll be back in a couple of hours and then I'll tell you all about the movie, okay?" He patted her on the head before turning around and walking away.

Great.

* * *

><p>Now Maddie sat here in her room, alone and frustrated.<p>

It was weekend and she had nothing to busy herself with, unlike her siblings.

They drove around in their cars, went shopping or to clubs, museums and parks, while she had to stay home.

After a lot of complaining about the unfairness of it all, she just got send to her room.

_Thanks Mom and Dad, as if that would make it any better._

It took everything she had in her to not break her room's furniture. She had spent so much time in here already and it was supposed to be her haven, the place where she could be herself. Now it just felt like the room was mocking her.

Her closet full of clothes she hadn't picked out, the blazer of a school she detested hung over the backrest of her chair. Books of subjects she couldn't care less about lay scattered all over her desk. A big bed standing there, covered in the most expensive sheets and decorated with several fluffy pillows, even though she would never sleep. An alarm clock on her bedside table - a prop. DVDs of movies she could replay in her head in every detail, CDs of bands she had listened to more times than she could count. The books on her shelves that were of no use to her anymore - she wouldn't detect anything interesting that she hadn't caught the first and only time she read them. It was impossible to forget - anything.

Things that wouldn't change weren't reassuring anymore, but utterly unsettling.

All these thoughts pulled her down to a level where she didn't want to be.

She couldn't let this capture her - Emmett would be back soon and tell her about the movie.

She felt pathetic once again. Sitting here and hoping for her brother to come back home soon - like a dog that was waiting by the door for its owner's return.

No, she couldn't be like that, she _wouldn't_ be like that. She decided to go look for something to occupy herself with.

So she jumped up and left her room, only to go straight into Edward's.

Scanning his shelves for a book she hadn't read before, she made a find and left again.

Okay, it wasn't nice to take stuff without asking, but she didn't want to go downstairs and choose a book from the shelves in the living room where she would have to see Carlisle and Esme.

In the end she settled for sitting in the hallway with her legs crossed, trying to become engrossed in her brother's book until someone would finally arrive back home and keep her company.

* * *

><p>Maddie heard her siblings come home one after another later that day.<p>

Her room door was ajar and she lay on her bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"Have you been to my room?" Edward asked, pushing her door open a little further.

"Huh?" Maddie turned her head, then rolled over onto her side to face her brother completely.

"Yeah. I borrowed a book, but I put it back on the shelf again."

He nodded his head. He normally liked it better when he got asked first, but while he was driving around, it would have been quite annoying to get a phone call about a book.

"Which one did you take?"

"Of Mice and Men," she replied.

Picking up on her mood and her thoughts, he offered, "I probably have some more that you haven't read yet. Help yourself."

"Thanks," Maddie said softly and rolled back on to her back.

"Maddie ..."

She looked at him again.

"You are having a bad day, but don't let it damp your spirits. Tomorrow will be different again."

"Yeah," she breathed.

He nodded once more before pushing himself away from the doorframe and disappearing into his own room.

He could fully understand what she was experiencing right now - he had felt like this for years already. But the difference was that she felt trapped and didn't like the way others saw her, while he felt lonely with his existence.

Maddie had the disadvantage of her young age on her side, and she had to miss out on everything other teenage girls could do. Of course it would frustrate her to be home all the time, to have parents who watched her every step.

But he could also understand Esme and Carlisle's perspective: They tried to keep her safe, tried to keep the family safe. And barely three years into this kind of life was like a drop in the bucket for the rest of them. Maddie was still inexperienced, young. She just had to endure the first few years of surveillance and strictness, before she would earn herself more freedom.

* * *

><p>The next day was like the day before. It was like every single day. Always the same, nothing changed. She was staying home, watching a movie with Emmett and Rose, but didn't enjoy it much.<p>

They took her hunting then, but even running and the fresh, warm deer blood didn't make her feel any better.

Of course they noticed. But every time they asked her, she replied that it was nothing.

She was fine.

She was well.

She figured that was what they wanted to hear her say.

And she didn't want to talk about it anyways.

Maddie was tired of being told that it would get better with time, that she had to endure this now where she couldn't do much. It would get better.

_But when?_ They never said.

If she had at least a vague idea when, then all this would be more bearable.

But nobody knew. _What were they waiting for?_

She hadn't killed anyone yet; she had proved she could be around humans, had she not? She went to school five times a week for several hours, wasn't that enough proof of her ability to restrain herself?

Heck, she didn't even try to get herself expelled even though she hated that school. Wasn't that sufficient proof?

Maddie just didn't understand what they wanted her to do. But they obviously didn't know what they wanted her to do, either.

It wouldn't get any better.

* * *

><p><strong>Good? Bad?<strong>

**I know I' told you about Christmas chapters, but then I thought that this chapter would fit in nicely.**

**Next chapter will be longer again, it just isn't proofread yet and I don't think I'll find the time to do it anytime soon. **

**Now, let me know what you think in your REVIEW!**


	39. Chapter 39

**Aaaaahhh! I passed, I passed! YAAAY ME!**

**Now I finally have time to post some chapters again. I swear, I was **_**that**_** close to being kicked out, but ... phew! **

**Okay, next month I'll be in the same shitty situation, but at least it won't be an 1,5 hour oral exam!**

**Gah, I'm rambling, just READ THE STORY!**

* * *

><p>He was leaning against the trunk of his car, arms crossed, watching the girl as she came out of the big double doors, chatting away with some other girls.<p>

She couldn't be overlooked: her outfit stood out from the rest.

How could it not be?

School uniforms everywhere, and then a girl in blue jeans, red top and a black leather jacket. _Come on._

She noticed him looking at her, but tried not to show that she did.

_Stupid._

He could read her thoughts, of course.

The girls said their goodbyes to each other and Maddie cursed like a sailor under her breath while she made her way over to her brother, angry and annoyed.

"_What the heck are you doing here?_" she whispered fiercely.

"I came to pick you up as I always do," Edward answered, completely nonchalant.

"I told you that -"

"- that you are a liar?" he finished for her.

Maddie took a step back. "Woah, hang on a sec."

Edward walked over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for his sister.

"Madeline, you called me and said Carlisle would pick you up today, which is not true. Now get in the car so we can drive home."

Maddie just stared at him.

"Did Alice tell you?" she queried.

"No," he answered while still holding the passenger door for her.

She did not move.

"Come on, get in."

"Not until you've explained to me how you knew," Maddie demanded, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"You are the one that has some explaining to do, not me," Edward retorted and pointed into the car. Finally she moved and got in.

Edward shut the passenger door before walking around the car to get to the driver's side.

The moment he sat down in his seat, he eyed Maddie once more.

"_And what are you wearing?_" he asked, sounding appalled.

"Clothes. Gosh, you are annoying," she huffed while taking her cell out and opening it to type a message.

"I don't think you will be using that for a while. Or that 'shirt' if you can call it that."

She let her hand with the cell phone in it drop to her upper thigh and then looked at her brother in the most annoyed way possible.

"Huh?"

"Well, I think Esme will want to talk to you and the same goes for Carlisle when he comes home from work," Edward clarified.

"You called them, you piece of dirt," she said knowingly.

Edward steered his car away from the curb and sped down the street. "No. I only called Carlisle to check if you told the truth, he probably told Mom."

"Well great, thank you."

"Do not blame me. Had I believed you, I'd be in trouble now."

She let out a mocking laugh. "Oh, come on. You're never in trouble. You are like ... their golden boy or something."

Edward could have snorted with laughter. "Remember your finger?"

When she just rolled her eyes, he went on. "I'm older than you is all. I made mistakes, too, when I was your age. We all did."

"Can't you just drive home without me? Tell them I got detention or something."

Edward sighed. "I will not lie for you."

Maddie shifted in her seat, then suggested with bright eyes, "Okay ... I call Mom and tell her that I have detention and that you know already. Problem solved."

With his eyes fixed on the street ahead, he just said, "No."

"Please?"

"Stop that. I will not lie to them."

"Fine." Maddie huffed, turned away again and went on typing a message.

They drove on without talking, so Edward put on some music.

But unfortunately, after twenty minutes they arrived home and Edward parked the car in the big garage right next to Emmett's.

Both got out and walked into the kitchen where Esme stood, waiting.

"There you are!" she exclaimed in relief the moment she saw Maddie and Edward, holding a hand over her heart.

Looking at her daughter, she then asked calmly, "Madeline, what was that all about, hm?"

But Maddie obviously did not want to talk, because she just walked on as if she hadn't heard or seen her mother.

Esme wouldn't have any of it, because she grabbed Maddie by the wrist and said sternly, "Sweetie, I have asked you a question and I do not like to be ignored."

She sounded neither amused nor happy about her daughter's behaviour.

_Awesome._

Carlisle probably told her to be as strict as possible with her.

"Fine, I wanted to have some time to myself. Happy?" Maddie snapped then forcefully wrenched her wrist from her mother's grasp.

After a little moment of silence, in which Esme looked at her daughter with eyes that held bewilderment and Maddie just glared back at her, Esme spoke again.

"Do not take that tone with me," she admonished with a warning finger. "You could have told us and together we would have found a way. Do you have _any_ idea how worried we would have been if you had left after school and no one knew where you were?"

Esme's tone had changed from stern to distraught while she asked the question.

"I happen to have a _phone_."

"And you would have answered it, yes?" Her mother questioned, back to being stern again. Then she noticed Maddie's clothing for the first time. "_And what are you wearing?_ Where did you get that shirt, young lady?"

That was when Maddie decided she had enough of this ridiculous and just plain stupid talk.

"I can wear whatever the fuck I want, I don't have to ask for your permission!" Maddie yelled and stormed out of the kitchen.

"This conversation is not over yet, Madeline!" Even Esme raised her voice now, calling after her.

"_Whatever!_" Maddie shouted down the stairs, then vanished into her room and slamming her door shut.

* * *

><p>Maddie slammed the door so hard that it nearly broke off its hinges.<p>

That would be the seventh door she had destroyed.

_Thank God it didn't._

Carlisle told her if she'd do it one more time, she wouldn't have a door anymore for a certain amount of time.

If you break it, you don't deserve it.

_Okay, calm down, calm down. _

But she was sick of it, _so sick of it_! Nobody let her have any fun. She had to spend all of her days at home or at school. Well, sometimes outside, but only with at least one member of the family. That was mostly for hunting, or maybe the movies but that couldn't be too late at night, because she was supposed to be_ thirteen_. Why couldn't they just let her be the seventeen year old that she was? And why couldn't they let her at least go home on her own?

Argh, Maddie knew she would be in trouble now. She had tried to fool Edward, yelled at Esme and cussed; Carlisle would not be impressed.

But ... nothing happened, right? She was at home and not outside, she had yelled but was calming down now.

No biggie.

Throwing her backpack into the farthest corner of her room, she then walked into her closet and changed her clothes, just to busy herself with something so she wouldn't break half her room out of pure anger.

Then she lay down on her bed and just stared at the ceiling of her room.

Everything was so unfair and they expected her to accept it without complaining.

But she wasn't like that. And she had the feeling that it had gotten worse over the last couple of months and it was slowly but steadily driving her insane.

After half an hour of calming down and staring at the ceiling, there was a knock on the door.

She said "Come in." and added silently, "... _you would anyways_."

And there stood Esme ... and Carlisle.

Now that surprised Maddie and she sat up with a frown on her face. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

Carlisle, still wearing his coat, walked over to the bed and sat down next to his daughter.

"Esme told me you were very upset, so I took the day off to be here with you," he explained while cupping her cheek in his right hand.

Oh, how sweet.

"I'm fine," she answered and pulled away - just because she had calmed down didn't mean that she wasn't still annoyed.

"Maybe you would still like to talk about what got you so riled up today."

Maddie shook her head. "No, I don't. Wouldn't change anything."

"Try it," Carlisle encouraged his youngest daughter.

He looked like he really wanted to understand and Maddie figured that maybe this time it would indeed change something.

"Okay ...," Maddie said and exhaled. "I wanted to have some time to myself."

"That's what you told me," Esme, who was sitting on a chair next to the bed, confirmed.

"Exactly."

"Go on, honey," Carlisle said.

"Well, that's it." Maddie just shrugged.

Carlisle shook his head in disbelief while saying, "That can't be all. You lied to your brother."

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Oh, big deal, but I did not lie to you."

"Madeline, we are a family and trust is very important. It doesn't matter to whom you lied, it is still a lie."

"I see ...," she spat.

After giving her a scrutinising look, Carlisle asked, "Now tell us: Where did you plan on going today after school?"

Maddie bit her lip, then replied in a soft voice, "I don't know. Maybe to the park, or the mall or probably just home."

Maddie's response made Carlisle frown.

"Home? I am not following. Edward would have taken you home, just like he always does," he told her, sounding positively confused.

Maddie's head shot up and she looked her father straight in the eye. "And that's the point! You don't even let me go home on my own! I can't do anything alone, you treat me like a baby!"

Carlisle sighed deeply. "I see what is bothering you and why, but we explained to you that it is the only way for now."

"But I hate it, Dad!" Maddie's voice cracked a little at the end.

His expression turned into a pained one. "You cannot imagine how hard it is for me to see you upset and I would love to grant you your wish, but it is just not possible yet."

"But when is it then?" she asked with venom-filled eyes. She sounded desperate and frustrated and just completely and utterly unhappy.

Esme was next to Maddie in less than a second and hugged her close to herself. Over her daughter's head she looked at her husband with despair in her eyes.

They had turned her so she would have the chance to live a good life. A happy life.

But now here she was - miserable and sad - and they couldn't do anything about it but tell her to be patient. It would get better with time, when she would understand the necessity of pretending to be younger than she actually was and the frustration that came with that.

But the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages: They would fit in, have the chance of staying in one place for several years at a time and live a next to normal life. Have a home where they could be themselves and just live.

Maddie hadn't done that before unlike her siblings, so she had trouble accepting her role. To them it was a routine; they wouldn't change it because it worked and granted them normality and security.

"Darling, the time will come, but it is still too early yet. Can you understand that?" Carlisle asked while rubbing his daughter's back in a comforting manner.

"No!" Maddie said petulantly, her voice muffled by the fabric of Esme's pullover.

"We simply cannot take the risk. If you wish to walk home, we'll have someone accompany you."

Maddie pulled away from Esme to turn around and look at her father. "Argh! This is not about _walking_, it is about you not letting me _do_ anything!"

_Why wouldn't he get it?_

Carlisle cleared his throat. "I understand that you are feeling angry, but yelling at us will get you nowhere."

Maddie narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath, before saying, "Then leave me alone."

"You want me to leave?"

"No, I want _both of you _to leave," she said through gritted teeth.

Esme went rigid, then slowly unwrapped her arms from around her daughter and stood up.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she asked softly, worry written all over her face.

"No! It doesn't change anything, it _never_ changes anything!" Maddie yelled, then turned away, not wanting to look at her parents any longer. Besides, if they wouldn't leave her room soon, she would probably throw something at them and she wouldn't even feel sorry for doing so.

Seeing that Maddie was clearly upset with them, they left to grant her some alone time. And to ponder about whether her actions today warranted punishment.

"Maybe we should tell Rose," Esme suggested when they reached the bottom of the stairs. "She could talk to her and explain."

"I'm not sure, she didn't ask for Rosalie."

"What about me?" Rosalie turned around on the couch, having heard Esme and Carlisle talking about her.

They looked at her, then Esme spoke. "Maddie is upset, I was thinking that maybe you could talk to her."

"If she hasn't asked for me then she just wants to be left alone. I'll check on her in a while," Rosalie said casually, then turned around again and continued to read the fashion magazine she had found lying on the coffee table.

"That would be great, thank you, Rosalie." Esme gave a sigh of relief.

"Sure."

* * *

><p>Maddie didn't answer when she heard a knock on her door. She remained sitting on the floor next to the big windows, looking at the forest and the street, her knees hugged to her chest and her head leaning against the cold glass.<p>

The next knocks were ignored as well.

Then the door opened. Maddie didn't look at the intruder, just kept on gazing into the distance.

"Maddie?" Rose asked, but didn't get an answer from her younger sister.

"Come, let's talk," she spoke again and walked towards Maddie who still wouldn't look at her.

So Rose knelt next to her, stroking her hair softly. "I don't like seeing you like this, please, just talk to me."

"Why," Maddie said with a voice that held no emotion whatsoever.

"Talking might help, you can let it all out. Shout, scream, whatever you like."

"No," she replied in the same dead voice as before.

"What is going on?"

After a moment of silence, Maddie said, "I'm sick of it."

Rose wasn't sure what exactly she meant, so she decided to guess. "Not being able to do what you want?"

Maddie snorted. "That is a minor problem."

"What is it then?"

When Maddie answered, increasing anger was detectable in her voice. "Having to do everything others tell me to, being _observed_ all the time like I cannot be trusted with the simplest decision. Having no privacy whatsoever. _That_ is my problem."

Esme and Carlisle wanted her home as much as possible, Alice saw her every move - her future - and Edward was always in her head. How could you not feel caged in then?

"It takes time."

"That's all I ever hear," Maddie scoffed.

"That is all we can tell you at the moment. Be patient."

"I'm not _me_ anymore. I'm nothing."

"Don't say that," Rosalie said, not liking her sister referring to herself as _nothing_.

Maddie laughed without humor. "See? I can't even speak the truth without being scolded."

"You know you can tell me everything, just don't belittle yourself."

"Right, I don't have to do that. You have done it already."

"Maddie..."

Maddie whipped her head around and looked her sister directly in the eye. "_What?_ You _don't know _what it's like! All you ever tell me is bullshit! You got treated like a grown-up right from the beginning. But me? I'm no different than a doll or a pet here," she said the words doll and pet with so much distaste, that it almost sounded vile.

Rose didn't say anything, because there was nothing she could say. It was true, after all - she had never been treated like Maddie was. But Maddie was a lot younger than her, wasn't she?

And telling her once again that it would get better wouldn't be very helpful at that moment - the girl was utterly frustrated and depressed.

It sounded as if Maddie's anger had turned to desperation then. She was looking at the floor when she spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why did they change me? Why couldn't they just let me die?"

"Sshh, come here." Rose immediately wrapped her arms around Maddie, swaying back and forth a little in order to calm her.

"If eternity is like this, then I don't want it. I don't want _any_ of it," Maddie whispered into Rose's shoulder.

Rose kissed her forehead, then let her cheek rest on top of Maddie's hair. "Eternity won't be like this."

Maddie pulled away to look at Rose with bleary eyes, asking, "How do you know?"

"I just do. Look. Half a year after you came back, you were allowed to go to school. That was a change, wasn't it? Before that, you had to stay home all the time."

"But school sucks," she said sullenly and fumbled around with the drawstring of her hoodie.

Rose wanted her sister's full attention, so she stilled her sister's hand with one of hers, which made Maddie look up at her again.

"That may be, but I am trying to tell you that there are indeed changes. Maybe they'll decide to let you stay home on your own soon, or let you go out with friends."

"I don't think so."

She sighed. "Maddie, don't be so pessimistic about it."

"So it's my fault now."

"No! Stop it!" Rosalie exclaimed and gave Maddie a light tap on the side of her thigh.

After a moment of silence Rose spoke again. "Would you like to watch a movie?"

"No."

"Come on, let's watch a Disney movie," she suggested.

"_No!_ I don't wanna watch a movie and I don't wanna see anyone; I just wanna be left alone!" Maddie turned around again, to stare out of the window like she had before.

Rosalie hesitated for a moment, then said, "I just don't want you to feel lonely."

"How can I feel lonely? I'm being watched and babysat 24/7," Maddie scoffed without facing Rose.

"Yes, and that is why you feel lonely, don't you? Like nobody gets you?"

"Leave me alone."

Begrudgingly Rosalie straightened up and tentatively asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Go."

* * *

><p>"Maybe I can cheer her up," Emmett offered after Rose had told them that Maddie was still in a depressed mood and didn't want to see anyone.<p>

"She wants to be left alone," Rose said again.

"Ah, she won't say No to me," he scoffed in response.

Rosalie crossed her arms and leaned again the counter in the kitchen. "She told me to leave. I don't think that you can change anything."

Emmett hopped down from the counter he had been sitting on and suggested, "Let's go to the store and buy something for her then, something to cheer her up."

Uncrossing her arms, Rosalie turned a little to face Emmett completely. "Like what? She is so depressed, I don't think a book or a movie would lift her spirits right now."

"Just leave her alone," Jasper said while closing the book he had been reading before.

"How about we go on a hunting trip with her instead of school tomorrow?" Emmett suddenly suggested with bright eyes, completely confident that his idea was a great one.

Jasper shook his head. "She wants to be left _alone_, a hunting trip with the family is definitely not what she wishes for."

Emmett frowned, trying to think of a different idea. "Can't you change her mood a little?"

Jasper laughed without humor and stood up from his chair. "No."

"I just don't want her to be sad," Emmett replied and made a face.

"Come on, she'll be herself again by tomorrow." Jasper told his brother encouragingly.

* * *

><p>But she wasn't.<p>

Maddie came down the stairs when she was called, ready for school.

She walked past her parents right into the garage and sat in the passenger's seat of her father's car.

Her eyes looked empty, like they had never seen them before. It concerned Esme more than anything, but Carlisle told her that he would try and talk to her. Everything would be fine by afternoon, for sure.

But when they drove off and in the direction of Maddie's school, she wouldn't talk. No matter what Carlisle said or asked, she wouldn't talk.

They reached the school but Maddie didn't even say goodbye, just grabbed her backpack and got out of the car.

Now Carlisle was concerned, too.

This wasn't a silent treatment to punish her parents.

Maddie didn't seem angry - she seemed broken.

* * *

><p>Her behaviour didn't change.<p>

Edward picked her up after school and told her that he would stay out of her head and she could talk to him if she wanted to. But she didn't. Not even his offer of making him unable to hear her thoughts piqued her interest.

At home, Maddie went straight for her room and closed her room door behind herself.

Nobody liked that she wouldn't talk and Emmett was getting mad. He had wanted to talk to his sister yesterday, but they wouldn't let him. And now she was sad and it was all their fault.

He stormed into Maddie's room, a new video game in his hand, but she didn't even look up or shout at him for just barging into her room without knocking.

Maddie sat curled up next to her window, looking out and funny enough, she was still wearing her uniform. She hated this clothing more than anything and changed the second she came home, always.

Today she obviously didn't care. She didn't care about anything.

Emmett's face fell and he didn't know what to say.

He looked around, then remembered the video game in his hand.

"Tiny? I bought a new game," he said and held it up for her to see.

Nothing. She didn't even look up.

He cleared his throat. "You'll love it, for sure."

Still nothing.

"I'll let you win," he offered with a smile - a smile she couldn't see because her eyes were fixed on the forest outside.

And she didn't reply.

Emmett let his hand with the game in it drop back to his side, a little sad that his plan hadn't worked.

"Um ... don't you wanna get changed? No offence, you look great, but wouldn't sweatpants be more comfortable?"

She didn't react, so he went on. "I'll get you a pair. Your favourite one is grey, isn't it? The one with the marker stain on it? Esme wanted to throw it away, but I know that you wouldn't let her."

He disappeared into her closet, only to walk out again a couple of seconds later.

"Yeah, this one, nice and comfy. I'll just put it on your bed, okay? And a hoodie. You get changed and come downstairs whenever you want. Then we'll play, all right? I won't start without you, okay? _Okay?_" But when she didn't answer, he just left the room.

"Jasper, please. Make her happy or angry or at least something unzombielike," Emmett begged when he entered the living room again.

Jasper shook his head. "That would be counter-productive."

"Does Alice know something?" he asked, then looked over to his right where Jasper pointed to.

"Oops, sorry, but I could swear you are getting smaller by the second."

She grinned at him, then crossed her legs. "I haven't seen anything."

"Really?"

"She didn't plan on behaving that way, and therefore she isn't planning on stopping it - it wasn't conscious. I think she is probably feeling like not talking and so she just doesn't."

"You don't see when it will end?"

Alice shrugged her shoulders, then shook her head. "No. Just let her come around on her own."

"She doesn't seem like she'll come around anytime soon. Not even a new game could cheer her up. Heck, not even _I_ could cheer her up, and I am _awesome_ at that."

Jasper looked at Emmett, sighing. "And that is what it's about. She wants to be left alone, and not even that is possible if every few minutes somebody barges into her room. Just respect her wish to have some privacy."

* * *

><p>"That's enough!" Emmett shouted when he entered his sister's room a couple of hours later. Maddie hadn't come downstairs - not even the tiniest noise had left her room, so Emmett decided he had to do something about it.<p>

At least Maddie had changed, but was still sitting by the window.

He walked up to her, pulled her into a standing position and threw her over his shoulder.

"We are going to play now, understood?" he asked and left the room, ran down the stairs and approached the couch in the living room.

Giving her a tap on the backside, he then carefully dropped her on the big couch and sat down with his back leaning against it.

He switched the TV and the game console on, then took two controllers in hand, passing one over his shoulder for Maddie to take.

When it hit the ground with a loud thud he looked behind himself with a startled expression on his face. He noticed Maddie sitting there with an empty facial expression, unmoving. She hadn't even reached out when Emmett let go of the controller, so it had bounced off the couch and fallen noisily to the floor right next to him.

"Tiny?"

Nothing.

"Mad?"

It was like she didn't even hear him.

"Come on, say something."

But when she didn't, he stood up and lightly slapped her upper arm.

"Come on."

She didn't do anything.

He seized Maddie by the upper arm then and shook her a little.

"Maddie, talk to me," he said.

"Let go of her, Emmett," Carlisle, who had just arrived back home from work, said from the kitchen.

When Emmett let go of his sister's arm, she stood up and walked towards the stairs, ascending it, and vanished into her room.

"_What did you do to her? !_" Emmett asked with anger in his voice when he heard Maddie's door closing with a soft click.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?"

"She wasn't like that before, what did you say to her to break her?"

"I don't think it is just of you to accuse us of breaking her," Carlisle admonished. He did understand that Emmett was concerned about his sister, but that didn't mean he could be disrespectful.

"Well, what else happened to her then?"

"She is unhappy," he replied while taking off his coat.

"Oh, really," Emmett scoffed.

Carlisle's tone had an edge to it now. "Emmett, we are just as upset as you are. I do not enjoy seeing any of my children miserable."

"Then do something," he requested, but trying to sound less rude than before.

Carlisle sighed. "Do what, Emmett?"

"She is distancing herself from us. Even from me. She has never done that before."

"Then maybe she needs some time to herself to think, wouldn't you agree?"

Emmett looked away, before facing his father again. "Does Esme have an idea?"

Esme was the most loving person you could ever meet ... she would know how to comfort Maddie, wouldn't she?

"I think she wants to leave Maddie alone for now. It pains her to see her that way, but there is only so much we can do. And you know your sister won't talk about certain things if she doesn't want to."

And so they didn't do anything.

* * *

><p><strong>Before I forget:<strong>

**Jamie: I, too, think that Esme and Rose can be very strict, I just couldn't picture them spanking Maddie before. But if any of you have an idea what could make Esme explode and take matters into her hands to punish Maddie, then feel free to tell me ;-) I just need ideas for that! Or you give me some time to come up with something, your choice!**

**nameless reviewer: I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging, but I was reeeaaally busy studying my ass off! ****It probably would have taken even longer if I hadn't written the first part of this chapter a couple of months ago. But I'll try to update at least once a week again, promise!**

**patz13: I would love for Maddie to have a PS3, but it is '04 in this story, so ... not possible :-/**

* * *

><p><strong>So? What do you think should happen next? Who will be able to cheer her up again? What will cheer her up again? Or will nothing cheer her up again?<strong>

**I have two ideas, but they might be a little meh, so I am asking you :D**

**REVIEW and tell me!**


	40. Chapter 40

**Heyho, my dear readers!**

**Thank you so much for your reviews! I wasn't sure if you would like to read a sad chapter, but you are obviously all right with that! :) **

**dme875: Absolutely loved your review! You summed up all the thoughts I was having on this! She is facing a shitty future and is starting to realise it, because quiet frankly: What will ever change for her? I tried to show that in this story, that's why she got brattier and moodier over time so it would necessarily come to this depression.**

**About Jasper and Alice: They have a very good reason why they are like this towards her. It is better for all of them, because it would just add fuel to the fire if they'd get involved now. I'll try to finish my other story until Christmas. Everything that happens in there is important to understand the interaction between the characters in this story. So, the next chapters will reveal quite a bit!**

**My other story is called 'Better times will come'! So, to everyone who hasn't read it yet: Please do so, it isn't as bad as it sounds, haha :D **

**Btw, the Christmas chapters will have a lot more Alice and Jasper for those of you who like to read about them! I have to admit that they are a bit underdeveloped in my stories :-/ **

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><p>For the next few days Maddie was still like that, didn't talk but she did as she was told. Her sudden obedience was unsettling as well. It was like she was just functioning, but she definitely wasn't herself anymore.<p>

Rose called Tanya to find out if Maddie had been like that while staying with them. But the talk wasn't much helpful, because Maddie had never been depressed before.

Tanya suggested they should bring Maddie back to them, to let her take a break from everything, but Rose was completely against it. It would send the wrong message, she said. Like they wanted to get rid of her now when she wasn't fun anymore and ship her off to the relatives who should sort her out. No, she would give Maddie some more time and then slowly try to talk to her once more.

Besides, it scared her as well as the rest of the family if Maddie would leave again and live at Tanya's. How long until she would come back to them? Last time it took her nearly two years to open up to the thought of joining her family again. How long would it take this time? Or would she stay in Alaska for good?

Tanya said that Maddie had been cheerful when she had stayed with them. She had shared a very close bond with Carmen - and Eleazar for that matter - and they had treated her like their own. But what had been different between how they had treated Maddie and how Esme and Carlisle did?

Tanya did not know, and neither did Rose.

Was it the fact alone that they had taken her in and cared for her, even though they were not obliged to do so?

Or the fact that they hadn't changed her - hadn't practically kidnapped her and inflicted the pain on her?

But the situations had been different, too: Maddie was still a newborn back then. She couldn't go outside without someone accompanying her, and she understood and accepted that. Maddie had experienced that the loss of a family member could destroy a whole family, and so she listened to the Denalis when they had told her she had to stay home where she wouldn't be tempted by the smell of human blood. She didn't want anyone to go through what she had to when she was still human.

Now she was able to control her thirst and she even went to school where she was surrounded by humans. But she didn't get the permission yet to spend a couple of hours away from home in her free time.

Was this about trust? Maddie probably got the feeling that Carlisle and Esme did not trust her and that's why they kept her home all the time. And Maddie didn't have the slightest idea what she could do to gain said trust.

It unsettled Rose having to admit that maybe Carmen and Eleazar would be better parents for Maddie than Esme and Carlisle. But why had she come back then? She had been happy under their care, hadn't she?

They had shown her the love and comfort she hadn't experienced for the last couple of years of her human life. With them, Maddie had learned to lose the wariness she had felt towards everyone surrounding her. It had taken some time, but the Denalis had managed to make her receptive for the joy of living again.

If she had a wish - which took her over a year to get herself to ask for for the first time - they sat down with her and made compromises or explained to her why she couldn't have something. That was for wishes they couldn't grant her, all the others were complied immediately, because they enjoyed making her happy and seeing her smile.

Carlisle and Esme weren't bad parents - quite the opposite actually - but still, maybe they weren't the right ones for Maddie. She needed a lot more privacy and freedom of choice in her life than they were currently offering her. Rose pondered over the possibility of telling them more about her sister, things they hadn't known yet. But then she dismissed that thought as quickly as it came; what she knew about Maddie, she had been told by her in confidence. And it might have the same effect on them that it had on herself: Being even more protective over her.

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><p>Alice and Edward took Maddie hunting after school on Friday. She fed, then leaned against a tree and waited for them to finish their deers.<p>

She didn't look like she enjoyed it very much, everything seemed to be indifferent to her. Her eye colour was fine, maybe still a little darker than usual, but she was sad so that would explain that.

Esme thought that maybe it was time to approach Maddie once more by bringing joy to her.

So she busied herself in the bathroom, then descended the stairs to greet her children who were just coming home from their hunt.

"Sweetie? I drew you a bath. I thought you might enjoy it," She said with a smile and watched Maddie walk past her. "Rose said she'll help you with your hair if you'd like!" Esme called after her and hoped that her baby would soon be able to smile again.

They thought that a bath would relax Maddie enough to talk. She was depressed, and as long as she didn't talk about it, her mood would not improve.

But they knew that Maddie absolutely loved bubble baths, that is why they chose this in an attempt to lift her spirits.

While Maddie sat in the tub Rose came into the bathroom, carrying Maddie's turquoise bathrobe and a towel.

"You don't enjoy it very much, now do you?" she said while making a face.

Maddie looked up at her, then back down at the mountains of foam around her. The entire house held the warm smell of lavender as well as melting beeswax, because Esme had lit the candles that decorated the window sill, washstand, little side table and of course the rim of the bathtub. Flowery scents were something vampires liked and they had the same calming effect on them that they had on humans. Whereas fruity stuff - not so much. It practically smelled of human food, which was gross.

Rosalie sighed, then sat down on the rim of the tub, taking a soft sponge in hand and soaking it in the bathwater.

While she washed Maddie's shoulders and her back, she admitted: "You're scaring me, little one. I have never seen you like this before."

She then decided that it would do no harm if she talked some more.

"Trust me when I say that I do understand what is bothering you, but I have always thought it would make you angry and not impassive like you are now."

Rose eyed Maddie to see if she was listening.

"I was angry and full of hate for quite a while," she then added, hoping that the honesty in her words would show Maddie that she understood at least a little bit of Maddie's pain. "You know that Carlisle, too, was the one who changed me."

She reached out for Maddie's arm, on which she continued to wash the drying deer blood off.

Trying to talk to her once more, Rose said, "Your obedience is disturbing as well."

Maddie lazily licked some dried blood from the corner of her mouth before quietly asking, "Why."

Rosalie's eyes bulged.

Maddie was talking to her!

She quickly regained her composure before Maddie would look at her and detect the astonishment on her face, and said, "You are so different now."

Keeping her eyes fixed on the dancing flame of one of the candles standing at the end of the tub, she replied, "Just like you wanted me to be."

Rosalie answered with a frown. "Nobody wanted you to be like_ this_."

"So I am doing it wrong."

Oh dear. Rose realised that this would take a lot of explaining - from Esme and Carlisle.

Maddie must be so confused.

Carlisle and Esme had a lot of rules for her and sometimes Maddie's natural sense of mischief would break through and she did whatever she wanted. She got punished and then she had the feeling that, because of her disobedience, they wouldn't trust her to be outside on her own.

Now she did as she was told, and it seemed like it wasn't right, either.

So what was there for her to do?

"Maddie, I love you so, so much. You know that, don't you?"

Maddie closed her eyes for a brief moment and nodded. Of course she knew that, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear right now. And it didn't help hearing that she upset Rose with her behaviour. No matter what she did, it would always affect others - she didn't like it.

They spent the next minutes in silence. Maddie stared straight ahead, even though her eyes weren't as empty as they had been before. Maybe she was contemplating something.

"Rose?" she suddenly asked in a weak voice.

"Yes?"

Without looking at her sister, she then asked in a voice free of any emotion, "Did they change me for me or for themselves?"

Rosalie froze completely. Her hand with the sponge in it stilled and her eyes were unblinking.

Briefly clearing her throat, she queried, "Why would you ask me such a thing?"

"Because I want an answer." Maddie glanced up at her then, her eyes held sadness but determination, as if she was longing for an answer but dreading it at the same time.

Rose looked at her for a long moment, pondering over her options.

What would be the right answer?

She knew they had changed Maddie to offer her a better life. That was their plan the moment they had seen in what condition the girl had been in, both mentally and physically.

But - and it was a very big but at that - they had done it because they were longing to have children and therefore accepted that she would never mature. Alice's visions had brought her to them; it was simply fate and never once had they doubted that.

The problem was that due to Maddie's physical age she would never be able to live an independent life; there was no way she could ever have a flat on her own or have a job like Carlisle. But they simply accepted that consequence when they had changed her ... maybe they thought she would never develop these kind of wishes and that way it was okay for them to bind her to themselves as their daughter.

Maddie would always have to assume the role of being a teenager, with parents and siblings. There was nothing else in tow for her.

And Carlisle and Esme knew that - they have known it right from the beginning. So - in all honesty - there had also been selfish reasons behind their decision of changing Maddie into what they were.

They had given her a future, but at the same time had taken it away from her.

Would she, with her fourteen year old mind, ever develop motherly feelings? Or better yet: Would she ever mentally develop further than fourteen? Would she grow up and behave like an adult or was she going to be trapped at that rebellious stage she was in now? What would the time bring for her?

"I think it's a little of both," Rose replied tentatively, but honestly.

Maddie bit her lip, then slowly nodded her head.

She did believe what Rosalie had just said, because she was the person she trusted to not lie to her. Maddie could have asked Carlisle and Esme again why they had changed her, but she had a feeling that the answer they would give her wouldn't necessarily be the truth. They had told her so much bullshit already that she preferred to talk to others.

So, for the last couple of days, Maddie had been calling Carmen or Tanya while being at school. Her family did not know that, but it was exactly what Maddie had been doing. Skipping one class each day to have someone to talk to in private, someone who would listen and console her. Maybe that had helped made Maddie talk to Rose now - she wasn't as depressed as before anymore, and Carmen had encouraged her to confide in her eldest sister.

Rosalie thought she needed to say something, because the atmosphere seemed so oppressing. "They love you very much and that's why they want to keep you from making bad experiences. They want to protect you."

"It can't go on like this forever," Maddie shook her head and swallowed heavily.

"No, it can't. You are right." Rosalie nodded while pressing her lips together tightly. It was then that she decided she needed to talk to their parents about Maddie, so they would understand what their superabundant protective instinct was doing to that girl. But first things first - Maddie needed to be cheered up.

"Emmett said he would like to watch a movie, just the three of us. How does that sound?"

Maddie just shrugged.

"He got it especially for you," She lured with a sweet, encouraging smile.

"I don't know."

Rose caressed Maddie cheek lovingly. "Just give it a try. He was also sad the last couple of days, you know?"

"My fault?" Maddie asked with big, guilty eyes.

"We really have to work on your newly acquired low self-esteem - I don't like it on you," she said reprovingly, even though Maddie detected guilt and even a little bit of fear in her voice. _Why? Was Rose scared of something?_

Grabbing the bathrobe from the hook next to the door, Rose then walked back to stand next to the tub, holding the robe up and turning her head away for Maddie to stand and put it on. "Shall we watch the movie in the living room?"

Maddie climbed out of the tub with one hand supporting herself on the rim and the other holding the robe tightly around her waist, before using the belt to secure it around her body.

"No. I don't wanna see them," she growled lowly.

It was clear what 'them' meant: Carlisle and Esme, of course.

"I understand. Well, then we'll just watch it in mine and Emmett's room. Don't worry, it won't be awfully long, but Emmett was so excited and said you'd need it."

"Need what?" Maddie asked, mildly curious now.

Rose smirked, glad that she could call Emmett her husband. This wonderful man had obviously managed - with something little like a movie - to get Maddie on the right track to being herself again. "That's what I didn't understand either. Probably the movie for your collection, I don't know."

Pulling the plug for the water to drain, she then watched Maddie towel down her hair for a moment.

Just like all those years ago, she still didn't know what decision she would have made.

This was _her_ sister, whom she loved with all her heart and would do anything for. She couldn't imagine life without her anymore. Yet, here was Maddie, never growing old, never maturing, never independent. A girl caught in between childhood and womanhood, forever.

What could she ever say to her to make it all better? Probably nothing.

She herself couldn't imagine what it would be like. And it was saying a lot that Maddie, after barely three years into this life, was having a crisis like this. Hopefully she would get over the sad thoughts she was having and start enjoying her life again. Rose herself had detested this life so much, until she had found Emmett on that fateful day all those years ago. He was the person who had made it all better for her. Life was bearable, no, _enjoyable_, through him.

A little embarrassed at being caught staring at her little sister, who looked at her with confusion and uneasiness written all over her face, Rose quickly stood up straighter and let a hand run through her blond locks, dismissing the thoughts she had just been engulfed in.

"Let's go then. I'll brush your hair during the movie," she offered, grabbed the wooden hairbrush from next to the basin and held the door for Maddie.

Esme would come upstairs in a moment to blow out the candles for her. Rose didn't want to do it with Maddie in the room, because her little sister was - even though she would probably never admit it - a little afraid of smoke. Another horrible memory of Maddie's that would never go away.

Smoke couldn't hurt her or anyone in this family, but Maddie would always tense up and look uneasy the moment she saw or smelled it.

So why cause her unnecessary distress?

"Emmett? We'll be watching the movie in here., Rosalie said while entering her bedroom, Maddie traipsing behind on bare feet, being enveloped in her big, fluffy bathrobe.

Emmett turned around in his seat, a big smile formed on his face instantly when he saw his wife and his little baby sister. "I found the perfect movie for you, Tiny! You'll love it so much! I actually wanted to give it to your for Christmas, but then I decided: Nah, now is the perfect timing. I swear, I went to the store and the moment I saw it, I just knew I had to get it for you. _It's so perfect!_"

Yeah, he was rambling, but it was Emmett and he was excited to have his sister back.

Maddie looked up at him, a small smile playing on her lips. She was glad he neither looked sad, nor angry with her. And it felt good to hear that he had thought of her and tried his best to cheer her up.

The sorrow she was feeling for a while now had been because of her parents, not because of Rose or Emmett. Her siblings cared for her and - even though they were ridiculously protective of her, too - she felt completely different about them showing it.

And Emmett really was the best big brother in the world.

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><p><strong>REVIEW and let me know what you think of this chapter!<strong>

** **Wanna find out which movie Emmett got for Maddie?** **

**And what would you think about Carlisle and Esme having a talk with Maddie in the next chapter? I have an idea, even though Maddie might be 'a little' mean. Oh well, I better write it first and see how it would be going from there, because I don't wanna ruin their first Christmas together!**

**Stay tuned! **

**:D **


	41. Chapter 41

**Um ... oops. I seriously have no idea how I managed to forget, but this chapter was finished over a week ago, but ... yeah.**

**I'll just post it now and we all pretend it never happened, kay? ;-) **

**So ... **

**Here we go, next one, woohoo!**

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><p>"Sit down." Rosalie pointed to the big bed in the middle of the room and watched Maddie climb onto it and sit down.<p>

The big flat screen was just opposite the bed, so this was the best place to be in order to enjoy a movie.

Emmett walked over to the sideboard and put a DVD into the player, hiding its cover from view.

"You'll see soon enough what it's about, Tiny," he laughed when he turned around and noticed his sister's curious eyes trying to look past him.

She still didn't look like her normal self - she seemed subdued. But that's what Emmett was here for, wasn't he? To make his sad little sister a happy little sister again.

Grabbing a big pillow from an armchair, he then threw it in Maddie's direction for her to catch. He knew how she sometimes liked to hug pillows to her chest to rest her head on. Then he slumped down next to her, remote in hand, and started the movie that was supposed to be the perfect item to lift her spirits.

Rose tsked at the impact her husband had landed with because she was busy brushing Maddie's hair and had nearly ripped her hair out with the brush.

The moment the beautiful piano music of the movie started however, they all sat there in comfortable silence on the soft bed and became entranced with the story.

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><p>As soon as the movie was over, Emmett looked expectantly up at Maddie who lifted her head from the pillow and glanced at him.<p>

"So?" he queried with a huge smile on his face and his eyes gleamed with excitement.

Maddie looked at him as if she was waiting for him to say something more.

"Don't you get it?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

Maddie didn't move.

"To be honest, I don't get it either," Rose remarked while lazily pulling at a loose strand on Maddie's bathrobe.

He sighed and sat up.

"Maddie," Emmett started, then cleared his throat before continuing, "you are my doggy poo."

Rosalie stared at him as though he had gone mad.

Maddie blinked owlishly, then pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek, looking pensive for a moment. "You compare _me_ to poo, while _you_ are a beautiful flower?"

Emmett pulled his shoulders up slowly, holding his hands palms up - to him it was incredibly obvious.

Rosalie's jaw dropped - that was not what she had expected for her husband to imply.

But then something happened which first startled, then relieved both of them.

Maddie started smirking, trying to suppress a laugh, but eventually - failed.

This girl sat there and suddenly cracked up with laughter. She let herself fall onto her side, head resting on Rose's knee, who then reached up and put a hand on Maddie's still damp hair.

She laughed so hard that it was infectious.

Emmett joined in immediately, while Rose needed a moment longer. She still didn't get why Emmett would compare their beautiful sister to feces, and she certainly didn't understand why Maddie would consider this to be absolutely hilarious.

Emmett wiggled his eyebrows at his wife, utterly proud of himself.

Maddie tried to catch her breath and sat up. "You," she choked out between laughs, "are a flower and I am _dog shit_?" She honestly did not stop laughing.

How did this happen? She had been depressed for nearly a week now, wouldn't talk to anyone and just sat next to her stupid window staring at the forest day in day out. And suddenly she sat here and literally laughed her ass off at something Emmett had compared her to?

He had insulted her, hadn't he? Rose shook her head in disbelief and got up from the bed.

"You two are decisively stupid," she said with a smirk. She honestly didn't get their sense of humour. But it wasn't important right now. Important was, that Emmett had managed to make their little sister laugh again.

"Why am I the poo, why not you?" Maddie asked then.

"Because you, Tiny, make me happy by being my little sister. Without your cheerfulness, I am sad as well." he explained. Yes, he had changed it ... _a lot_, but the way he saw it, it did make sense in a way.

The little dog turd in the movie did not know it's purpose in life, because it was ... yeah, it was just a pile of muck. But by helping a flower grow and becoming a part of her, he had finally understood and found his meaning in life.

That was very deep for Emmett, wasn't it?

"I love the movie, Emmett," Maddie said with a smile and threw her arms around his neck to hug him. "Thank you."

He hugged her back and smiled at Rose.

"You're welcome, Tiny," he said and reached up to ruffle her hair.

Maddie let go of her big brother, only to turn around on the bed and face her sister.

"Thank you, Rosie," Maddie said with a smile and scooted over to her in order to hug her as well.

Rosalie returned the hug, but asked, "What are you thanking me for, Maddie? This was Emmett's idea."

"For being honest with me," Maddie whispered in Rose's ear.

Rose pulled away to look her sister in the eyes. They looked big and oddly innocent, even though these eyes have seen too much already. Rose nodded her head, which made Maddie smile.

"It's stuffy in here," Emmett remarked while stretching out on the bed. "How about we go to the movies or bowling or shopping or running or -"

"We got what you are getting at, Emmett," Rose said before turning her gaze on her little sister in front of her. "Where would you like to go?"

Maddie bit her lip while thinking about it. A small smile crept across her face, but then she let out a sad sigh. "To the movies, but you won't like the one I'd like to watch."

"You know what? I'll just watch it anyways. Go get changed," she said and enjoyed seeing Maddie's face light up at that.

Maddie climbed off the bed and got a pat on her behind by Rose, who called after her, "Hurry!"

Maddie didn't need to be told twice, she all but flew to her room, changed into some of her favourite clothes and jumped down the stairs to meet up with her siblings again.

"Look who's excited," Emmett grinned at Maddie.

"You two go ahead, I'll be right there," Rosalie said when they had reached the bottom of the stairs.

She watched them heading for the garage, Emmett giving Maddie a piggyback ride, before she walked into the living room where her parents were seated on the couch watching TV. She could still hear Emmett and Maddie talk.

"_So, what's Rose?_"

"_Rose, too, is poo,_" Emmett replied, which made Maddie giggle and Rose roll her eyes.

"Emmett, Maddie and I are going to the movies," she said and watched her parents turn around in surprise.

"I told you I heard her laugh, Esme," Carlisle said and a smile spread across his face.

"Thank you so much, Rosalie," Esme said; thankfulness, love and relief all prominent in her voice.

"Don't thank me too early, I think she still doesn't want to talk to you."

Her mother's face fell. "What can we do?"

"Give her time. When I come back I will want to talk to you about her. There are a lot of things that have been going wrong in this house," Rosalie stated and took a step backwards, then turned on her heel and left the room to join Emmett and Maddie in the garage.

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><p>"Take her upstairs, I'll talk to Carlisle and Esme," Rosalie whispered to Emmett the moment they parked the car in the garage. The trip to the movies had been fun, even though Rose really hadn't enjoyed the movie.<p>

He nodded, then said, "Come on, let's go upstairs, Maddie."

"Okay," she responded, jumped out of the car and waited for her brother by the door.

"Are you coming, Rose?"

"No, I'm really not a big fan of Gameboys," she said with a smirk.

"Suit yourself." Maddie shrugged her shoulders, then followed after Emmett who had walked past her and into the kitchen.

They met their parents in the foyer.

Curious eyes were on Maddie, and she didn't really like being stared at.

"Hello," Emmett greeted them.

"Hi," Maddie said giving them a glance, then walked up the stairs behind Emmett.

She seemed wary, Carlisle and Esme noticed. But at least she had left her room and was talking again.

"Is she still upset about what happened on Monday?" Esme queried.

Rosalie frowned, then decided to clarify something for her mother. "She is upset about the last couple of months, you saw her."

"Yes, but she cannot expect us to let her be outside all by herself for several hours, she is too young," Carlisle said.

"No, she isn't. She is mature enough for that. And the way you treat her, she is losing confidence in herself."

Esme shook her head lightly. "I don't want her to feel that way. But to be honest: I wouldn't feel comfortable not knowing if she was safe."

"What do you think might happen to her?" Rosalie queried and she sounded incredulous.

"There are all kinds of dangers."

"Esme, everything bad that could possibly happen has already happened to her. She is older and stronger now, and she has us."

"Aren't you afraid for her?" Esme asked in a hushed voice.

When Rosalie spoke again, her tone wasn't fierce anymore, but soft again. "I am, but I am also afraid that she might lose her sanity or leave us."

Esme nodded her head sadly.

Now Carlisle spoke up again. "We'll explain to her once more that -"

"_- are you blind?_ Look what you are doing to that girl!"

"Rosalie."

"You should listen to me, because you obviously don't know her at all. It will end very badly if you keep on telling her that she just has to understand. Approach her when you can make concessions, and _only_ then," Rosalie spat, then stalked from the room.

They just stood there. Carlisle looked taken aback by the way Rose had talked to them and Esme held a hand over her mouth in shock.

But Rose's words had been honest and they knew that she just wanted what's best for her sister.

* * *

><p>"Maddie? Your father and I would like to take you on a hunt," Esme said carefully and peeked into her daughter's room.<p>

Maddie looked up at her from her position on the bed, then nodded.

Esme gave a tiny sigh of relief. They had planned on talking to her in private and she was glad that Maddie wouldn't avert them anymore.

"Come downstairs when you are ready, dear."

"I am ready."

"Good. Come along, then." Esme waited by the door. When Maddie walked past her, Esme closed her room door and followed her down the stairs. On the second landing, Esme stopped for a moment to tell Carlisle that they could leave now.

"Ready, honey?" he asked when he saw Maddie leaning against the newel post at the foot of the stairs, braiding strands of her hair and looking bored.

She nodded, then walked ahead to the front door and opened it.

No, her cheerful side definitely wasn't back yet.

Together they ran into the forest for their hunt, but halted when Carlisle suddenly suggested, "Why don't we sit down and talk for a moment?"

Maddie looked at him with a blank facial expression, then walked back to where he was and sat down on a tree log.

She could have declined talking to them if she had wanted to - they would have understood.

But somehow Carlisle had a feeling that she also wanted to get something off her chest.

Esme seated herself on a tree stump opposite Maddie while Carlisle spoke.

"Rosalie talked to us about you and we thought a lot about her words during the past couple of days."

Maddie waited for her father to go on.

"So we would like to try something next week. If - after school - you would like to return home all by yourself, we are willing to let you walk or take the bus. You'll tell us then if it's all right with you."

Maddie snorted while staring at the ground. "You're shitting me, right?"

"Madeline."

She lifted her head then, her eyes flashing with anger. "_If it's all right with me? _Since when do you care?"

"We always -"

She glared at him and said, "When you changed me, did you ever stop and think _if it would be all right with me_? That living with you _would be all right with me_? You don't care about all that!"

"Of course we do!"

Maddie shook her head at her father's answer. "Like hell you do. I asked you to kill me and you said that vampires cannot die and therefore cannot be killed. You _lied_ to me."

Now there was a deadly silence.

Esme had apparently turned to stone a while ago - she just sat there and stared at her husband and daughter.

Carlisle was dumbfounded. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How-"

Maddie, being a little pissed, interrupted her father before he could annoy her further. "Tanya told me. You have to dismember a vampire, then burn the pieces, she said. _Funny, huh?_ That she would know something that you don't, even though you have watched tons of executions."

Carlisle let his fingers run through his hair roughly - it was a reaction to stress. But when he spoke, he was calm and collected. "Maddie, you had been too new to this kind of life. You needed to give it a chance before wishing for something final like that."

Maddie sounded like something inside of her had snapped. "I could have died as a human, suffocated or bled to death - _whatever!_ - and I wouldn't even have _felt_ it. _You_ didn't let me. Then when I asked to be killed, _you_ didn't let it happen. _Who the hell do you think you are?_ It isn't your choice to make."

Carlisle took a step backwards and slowly sat down next to Esme.

"What are you trying to tell us? That you are tired of living?" Carlisle felt like he couldn't think straight, like this talk wasn't real.

And Esme - Esme was in shock, obviously.

"No, I am just trying to tell you that I will want my choice back. One day I will ask to be killed ... and that is _exactly_ what's going to happen then."

"Nobody would do such a thing," Esme whispered while shaking her head - her eyes were wide with fear and denial.

Maddie snorted at that. "Don't worry, it is no ones responsibility but yours."

All of a sudden a wicked smile formed on her face, and she pledged in an icy voice, "_I will make you two do it._"

When they just stared at her, crippled by their daughter's words, Maddie clapped her hands together once, startling them.

"So! I guess I'll see you at home then," she exclaimed cheerfully, turned around and was gone.

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><p>"Where are Carlisle and Esme?" Edward asked when Maddie walked into the foyer through the front door, alone.<p>

He had been playing the piano, but stopped the moment he detected his sister come back home without anyone to accompany her. That was peculiar.

"In the forest," Maddie replied casually and pointed behind herself with her thumb.

Edward looked like he was trying to listen for something, then said, "Esme is crying. What did you do?"

"Nothing, we just talked," Maddie shrugged her shoulders and took her shoes off at the door, then walked towards the staircase.

He stared at her. _Was she serious?_ "They are both frantic, Maddie."

Maddie looked at him, an unreadable expression on her face, before turning around and ascending the stairs.

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><p><strong>:D<strong>

**So? **

**REVIEW! **


	42. Chapter 42

**Hello!**

**Thank you for your reviews! **

**To be honest: I was half expecting you to dislike the last chapter! Maddie was quite evil in that one, tee-hee. This chapter here might make it worse for some of you :-/ I'm not sure.**

**Read and find out why!**

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><p>"Esme, my love, she wouldn't do something like that," Carlisle said in a futile attempt to calm his wife who was in tears. They had remained sitting in the forest since they needed a moment to collect themselves after what had just taken place.<p>

"How do you know? Didn't you see the look in her eyes?" she choked out before burying her face in her hands again.

Carlisle swallowed heavily before speaking again, trying to sound comforting. "I don't think she would do that - she wouldn't."

"You know how often she acts without thinking. What if she decides to follow through with her threat, Carlisle? We would end our own daughter!" she sobbed. The situation caused her bodily harm it seemed.

"Esme, she was upset, but I am sure she didn't mean what she said," he said to soothe his wife's nerves, even though he wasn't sure if he himself believed his words. He was just as scared and anguished as she was, but right now he needed to be strong for his wife.

"I cannot bear the thought of losing another child. And we would be the ones to - to ..." She turned away from Carlisle, not able to finish the sentence because heavy sobs shook her petite frame.

It pained him so much to see her that way. He knew how much she had suffered already when she had lost her little baby boy all those years ago. The desperation and pain she had felt then caused her to take her own life. Now this situation brought back all those painful thoughts and memories - for her and for him.

And the fact that Maddie had said she would make them do it made the situation even more horrible. They would rip their own child apart and burn her to ashes, because she could compel them to do it. If Maddie decided to let it happen, then they would have her venom on their hands and lose her forever.

"Esme. Esme, please look at me," he begged and waited for her to turn back towards him. "Everything is going to be all right."

Hugging her close to himself then, he tried to offer her comfort as best he could.

"I never realised that she was that unhappy. What have we done?" Esme whispered into his shirt.

He lovingly stroked her hair while replying, "We did what we felt was right, love."

"I'm a horrible mother, I-"

Carlisle pulled away, his eyes wide. "Esme, please stop. Don't you ever say that. You are a wonderful mother to all our children. Maddie is upset with _me_, not you."

"She threatened _us_, Carlisle! Why would she threaten _us_ if she had the feeling that we both are loving parents to her?" No matter what her husband said, she felt like it was her fault, and hers alone. It hurt her deeply that over the past months she obviously had failed to show her daughter how much she meant to her. Maybe she should have tried harder, spent more time with her, hugged her more.

"Maybe she's testing us. You know she always had trouble accepting someone as her parent." _Hopefully that little possibility would help Esme calm herself_, Carlisle thought. _It might be a test, after all._

Esme thought it over for a moment, then replied in a strained voice, "But what can we do? How can we prove to her that she is our daughter and always has been? From the second I caught sight of her I knew it in my heart."

"I know, love, I know. I love our children more than life itself and I cannot imagine the anguish she must have felt when she said those things to us just yet."

"Maybe ... maybe if we stop physical contact, then she would never be able to follow through with her threat. She forms the bond through touch," Esme mused, trying to focus on a solution instead of on the pain and sorrow she was feeling. She would never be able to hug or kiss her daughter again, but at least she wouldn't lose or hurt her.

Carlisle shook his head. "I don't want her to feel like we are abandoning her now. Avoiding her might send this message and make it worse."

Esme's shoulders slumped a little. "But what can we do?"

"I'm not sure."

Suddenly she lifted her head again, another idea had formed in her head. "She would be safe at Tanya's. We couldn't see her anymore, but that way she'll stay alive."

He frowned at his wife's idea. "Send her away?"

"She was happy there, why wouldn't she want to go back? It would be better that way, even though I'll miss her terribly." She looked at her folded hands in her lap.

"I cannot imagine not seeing her anymore," Carlisle uttered.

"I know, these two years had been unbearably long. I don't want her to go, but -"

"Let us speak with Rosalie," Carlisle suggested and his voice held determination.

Rosalie knew her sister - she would know what to do, wouldn't she? Maddie trusted her, she always turned to her whenever she needed someone to talk to. And he couldn't imagine Maddie wishing for something so drastic without having thought about what that would do to Rose and Emmett.

"It would upset her to know what Maddie said," Esme remarked. The situation itself was bad enough, Esme didn't want to upset anyone else. Rosalie would be devastated ... why hurt her so?

"It would upset her more if something happened and she found out that we had left her in the dark about Maddie's words." He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, then put his hands on her folded ones.

She nodded. He was right.

Rose could talk to Maddie, she would be able to make her see reason.

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><p>"Rosalie?" Carlisle knocked on the door and waited for her to answer. They had walked home, with Carlisle having an arm around his wife's shoulders to support her since she was still silently crying. Before they had reached the front door, Edward sped out of the garage in his silver Volvo. He had glanced at them, his face a blank mask, before he focused back on the path in front of him. Carlisle had already half expected something like that - Edward always had trouble seeing his mother crying, it grieved him.<p>

The door opened and Rosalie looked up at her parents. "Yes?"

"We would like to talk to you. Would you join us in the living room?" Carlisle asked.

"Sure," she replied, even though she felt a little uneasy. It was strange that they looked so troubled and then wanted to talk to her alone.

Loud music could be heard coming from the upper floor - Maddie was listening to her favourite music again.

So they had obviously approached her and made concessions, Rosalie mused. She was pleased that the harmony was restored in the family.

Sitting down on the creme-coloured couch in the living room, she looked expectantly up at her parents then, waiting for them to let her in on what was bothering them. They looked tense - worried even.

_How could that be? Shouldn't they be happy that Maddie was finally herself again?_

Carlisle cleared his throat, then started talking. "Rosalie, dear, what impression did you have of Maddie lately? Especially the last couple of days."

"She was more at ease during the last days. She and Emmett were goofing around," Rosalie replied honestly while tucking one of her blond locks behind her ear.

"Did you have the feeling that it might have been an act?"

Rose gave him a baffled look. "An act? What do you mean? Why would she just _pretend_ to have fun?"

Carlisle sighed. "We don't know. It is just a question."

Rose sighed. "No, I did _not_ have the feeling that it was an act. And she seems to be quite well right now."

"So you didn't get the feeling that she might have gotten worse?" he asked her.

Rosalie definitely did not like this talk. What happened that he would ask so many weird questions?

"No! Could you please tell me what's going on? Your questions seem quite odd," she said and looked back and forth between her parents.

Carlisle gave her a level look before speaking again after some hesitation. "Your sister gave us an insight of her feelings today. She remarked that one day she will want her choice back and that your mother and I would be the ones responsible for the necessary action then. She would even lend us a hand in fulfilling her demand."

Rose swallowed heavily, then blinked her eyes a couple of times while processing the information she had just been presented with. "That's what she said?"

Esme, whose eyes were once again filling up with fresh tears, nodded her head.

Rosalie frowned and shook her head in disbelief. Why would Maddie say something horrible like that? Why would she wish to get killed? Did this girl have any idea what that would do to each and everyone in this family?

And then it dawned on her...

... the talk they had ...

... Maddie had thanked her ...

... and sometimes this little girl used drastic measures to show her displeasure ... she had obviously thought of a way to hurt her parents the way she felt they had hurt her in order to finally let go.

Maddie wasn't someone to bear grudges. She couldn't be angry for long ... but what she had said to their parents seemed like she had wanted to get even with them because she had been frustrated and sad and blamed them for it. Well, that rapidly developing anger had pulled her out of her depression, but it was downright cruel to treat their parents like that.

"Does she think we don't love her? That we favour the others?" Esme asked in a strained voice. It would break her heart if her youngest would feel cut out. That had never been her intention! She always tried to be there for all of them, but sometimes Maddie needed some space and so she let her have time to herself. Had that been wrong? Should she have pressed Maddie to talk about her feelings?

"No, it is quite the opposite actually," Rosalie snorted angrily, then clenched her jaw.

That didn't go unnoticed by her parents, and her voice as well as her facial expression confused them.

"What do you mean?"

"That little devil, I _cannot_ believe it," Rosalie said more to herself than to her parents. She had half a mind to go upstairs to find her little sister and spank her behind good and proper - screw the consequences.

"Rose?"

Rosalie sighed, then looked back up at them and said, "She doesn't want to die."

Esme breathed a sigh of relief, holding a hand over her heart.

"But why would she say something like that?" she whispered, still teary-eyed.

"To hurt you." Rose shrugged.

But judging by the puzzled looks her parents gave her, she decided to explain a little further. "I am fairly sure that this is about getting even. She obviously knows how much you love her, otherwise she wouldn't have chosen to say something like that to hurt you the worst way possible."

"She knows?" Of course that was most important to Esme right now. To her, there was nothing worse than having someone in this family who wouldn't feel loved. She would willingly take the pain for them, just to see them happy.

"Sure."

Of course Maddie knew. What Maddie had said to their parents _confirmed_ that she knew. And little Maddie was unbelievably at ease now, apparently she felt _great_, because she had upset her parents out of sheer spite.

This was characteristic for Maddie's logic, why hadn't she thought of that before? That was why Maddie thanked her - she had given her the ideal weapon. Esme and Carlisle had wanted to change Maddie, it didn't just happen out of the blue - and that was the final information Maddie had needed for her wicked plan.

In order to finally get over the frustration she had felt for a while now she wanted to watch her parents suffer ... to let them be sad so she would feel better.

"Everything she said was for the simple reason to hurt us?" Carlisle asked, trying to understand the situation.

"Well, I don't know what else she said to you, but this specific topic: Yes. I could talk to her if you'd like - to make sure I am not wrong about this."

They suddenly heard squealing and laughing over the music coming from Maddie's room. And then - as if it wasn't loud enough already - Emmett and Maddie bawling the song that was playing.

"See? She's well." Rosalie smirked. So she was indeed right. Of course she was, she _knew_ her little sister and her strange way of thinking.

"I have never been that scared in my life," Carlisle breathed and held a hand to his forehead, looking upward. He was so, so relieved to hear Rosalie say these words and - of course - to hear Maddie laugh. But that his little girl would say something so malicious and mean just because she had felt like it shocked him. _Esme had been in despair!_ He couldn't help but feel disappointed and even a little cross with Maddie. Esme had never wanted for Maddie to know about her little son, so he couldn't accuse his daughter of making Esme remember losing her baby. But he could reproach her for her motivation to intentionally frighten them witless.

"I think that was her intention," she commented and scowled.

"As long as she knows that we love her-," Esme started to say but got interrupted by Rosalie.

"Esme? Aren't you even the slightest bit upset about what she said to you? _That was plain cruel!_"

"I don't think she thought it through," Esme said to apologise Maddie's behaviour. She was just so relieved at hearing Rose say that Maddie wasn't serious, that she couldn't feel anything else right now.

"I would have slapped her had she said something like that to me! _How dare she?_" Rosalie ranted. She was upset to say the least.

"Rose," Esme mildly reproved.

"No! I'm really angered by this! You don't say something like that for lack of anything better to do, and you certainly don't run around and threaten the people you love!" Rose was beside herself. Of course she was scared as well, because if Maddie hadn't made that threat just to upset her parents, then it would have been her honest wish - that thought was scary.

Furthermore, what made this situation so dangerous was the fact that Maddie thought like an obstinate child. And unfortunately vampires had a malicious streak to themselves, and that mixed together ...

Vampires didn't feel compassion; it just wasn't natural to them, it wasn't in their nature to be compassionate. They loved to play with their victims, they enjoyed to torture and kill, because the blood tasted better with as much adrenaline as possible in it. To come straight to the point: They didn't feel sympathetic to anyone, and very often not even to their own kind.

If Maddie let that cruel, unsympathetic side of her nature resurface and get the better of her, then it might end very badly. Was she lacking love and compassion?

But from day one she had been surrounded by vampires who had acquired the feeling of sympathy for others. She never met 'non-vegetarian' vampires in her life, so she had never been influenced by anyone else but sympathetic people.

Consider other people, treat others with dignity and respect and maintain a low profile - that's how she was raised by the Denalis and themselves.

They didn't kill humans and Maddie had her bloodlust under control. She even had human friends, so she has learned compassion and sympathy by now.

So Maddie should have known better than to treat her parents that way.

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><p><strong>Chapter wasn't proofread, just so you know. But I wanted to finish and post it so you wouldn't have to wait any longer! Next chapter might be up next Friday, dunno. I need to study :-( <strong>

**Now...**

**A talk with Maddie is in order, don't you think? ... but who should do it? And will she be trouble?**

**REVIEW and let me know what you think should happen next! (I have written a talk with Rose and plan on adding a scene with Esme, but I could still change it, you know!) **


	43. Chapter 43

**Hey!**

**Yes, I was actually planning on updating sooner, but I needed a break from everything. **

**But I have some good news for you: Holidays are coming soon and then I'll have time to write again! I hope I can go back to updating 3-4 times a week!**

**I like your ideas about Maddie living with Rose and Emmett, but I have already something different planned that'll help Maddie deal with everything. Just wait a couple of chapters ;-) **

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><p>"Maddie?" Rosalie called over the music and walked into her sister's room to which the door was wide open.<p>

"Huh?" Maddie replied, barely able to hear her older sister speak.

So Rosalie turned the music off, because talking would be a lot easier that way.

"Hey! We were listening to that, Rosie!" Emmett complained. He was lounging on Maddie's bed, but drew himself up into a sitting position then.

"We need to talk, _right now._"

"What's wrong?" Maddie queried and stopped jumping on her bed.

"_You have to ask?_" Rosalie let a little of her anger show.

"Huh?"

"Carlisle and Esme just talked to me because they were both very upset."

"Oh, they are back already?" Maddie asked and tilted her head to the side like she was waiting for her sister to tell her an interesting story.

That they were back home yet wasn't according to plan... she had actually hoped they would stay in the forest for a little while longer, so they wouldn't have heard her and Emmett singing.

Oh well, she just got carried away.

Rosalie slowly folded her arms across her chest. "I told them that you lied," she commented dryly.

Maddie groaned. "Rose! Couldn't you at least have waited a couple of days?"

Rosalie just _knew_ she had been right about that! _Argh ... that girl!_

Her expression hardened visibly. "I hope you are kidding right now. They were _devastated_."

Maddie smirked.

"I would so like to wipe that smirk off your face right now," she said and - maybe unknowingly - flexed a hand at her side.

Maddie's eyes widened and she leaned against Emmett, away from Rose.

Emmett put an arm around his little sister's shoulders. "Rose, don't say that! What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with _me_? I am not the one who takes pleasure in being cruel."

Maddie snorted at hearing that. "Cruel, my ass ... you are making a mountain out of a molehill."

"Maddie, let me warn you: I am _that_ close to putting you over my knee, so you better lose that attitude."

Emmett had no clue what was going on right now. Why would Rose be that livid with little Maddie? And he didn't like his wife threatening to smack her - she was just a little girl, after all. What could she possibly have done? Stained a T-Shirt? Not taken her shoes off at the door?

Maddie whimpered and leaned even closer against Emmett.

He reached up and patted her hair, while saying, "Woah Rose, please, you're scaring her."

"I'm not scaring her, she's just _pretending_ to be scared so you would protect her from punishment."

"You just threatened to spank her!"

Rosalie couldn't believe that her husband would argue now. "And that is the least she deserves! She needs someone to knock some sense into her!"

"Start from the beginning. What happened?" Emmett asked - he needed to understand why Rosalie was so upset, then he could start trying to diffuse the situation.

"Ask Maddie, she'll enlighten you," Rose snapped.

Emmett looked confused, but then he fixated his gaze on Maddie and waited.

"I don't wanna say ... you'll be mad at me," Maddie muttered and squirmed a little.

"And he has every right to! How could you be so cruel?"

"Hello? I wouldn't have followed through with it. And besides, it wasn't that bad," Maddie replied casually.

Rose was fuming, that's why Emmett decided to do the talking now so Rose wouldn't follow through with her threat.

"Then tell me what you did if it wasn't that bad," he prompted.

She grimaced a little while looking up at him.

But Rosalie was obviously not done talking yet, so their eyes were back on her when she spoke again.

"What's going round in your head? Threatening your own parents to use your ability on them to do something like that?" Rose ranted at her.

Maddie shrugged. "So?"

"_So? !_" Rose looked like she was _that_ close to losing it. When she took a step towards Maddie, Maddie quickly scooted back on the bed, so in case Rose would want to smack her, she wouldn't be able to reach her.

"I always have to do whatever they tell me. I could show them how that feels like," she replied petulantly.

"But threatening them with your _death_?" Rosalie was outraged.

"_What? !_" Emmett roared and jumped up after hearing the reason for his wife's indignation.

"Don't yell at me...," Maddie murmured and pouted. She glanced up at her brother, but he looked completely shocked, so she turned her gaze on her folded hands in her lap.

"You threatened Mom and Dad that you'd _kill_ yourself?"

"No. She threatened to _compel_ them to rip her apart and burn the pieces," Rosalie clarified, a little smug now that Emmett was just as upset.

Emmett looked back at Maddie, who sat on her bed looking at him with big, puppy dog eyes now as if she couldn't harm a fly.

He took a deep breath, then said chidingly, "That is not cool, Mad."

"Sorry," she replied in a little voice and hung her head.

Emmett gaze turned softer then and his shoulders slumped a little, which didn't go unnoticed by Rosalie.

"She is _not_ sorry, Emmett, so don't you believe her."

"But just look at her," he said and gestured towards Maddie. He sounded as if their new puppy had just peed on the carpet, but you couldn't be mad at the little whelp because she was just so darn adorable.

Rose shook her head in annoyance. "Emmett, would you please step outside for a minute?"

"No! Please don't go, Emmy," Maddie pleaded. She didn't want to be alone with Rose when she knew she'd get scolded now like you wouldn't believe.

"Rose-," he started, but got interrupted.

"I just need to talk to her, but I cannot do it with you in the room. She's manipulating you without you noticing."

"I'm not! I just don't want him to leave, because then you'll go all crazy on me."

"I need to _talk_ to you."

"About what?" Maddie groaned.

Rose's jaw dropped. "What did we _just_ talk about? !"

"I know what we just talked about - I was present, you know?" Maddie snapped, then grimaced and added, "But I thought we were done."

Rosalie shook her head and said in a fake sweet voice, "Oh, we are far from done."

Maddie didn't like talking about that now because Rose seemed pissed, so she tried, "You know, it isn't even your business."

"Are you sure about that? My sister saying she'll force our parents to kill her is not my business? No?" Rose glared daggers at Maddie, who now tried something different.

"I didn't mean it! It's not my fault if they cannot see that."

"You were very convincing apparently. Now come here so we can talk," Rose ordered and pointed to the edge of the bed.

"No, you'll smack me," Maddie folded her arms and sulked.

"I won't smack you, you silly girl. Now come."

Emmett left at that and closed the door behind himself. Rosalie wouldn't lie to Maddie, so there was no need for him to be in this room anymore.

Maddie scooted over to the edge of her bed and let her legs dangle, while Rosalie sat next to her.

"I want you to tell me why you said something like that to them."

Dismissing lying as a stupid idea, Maddie said, "Because I felt like it ... and I was angry at them."

"That much is obvious. Why did you chose to threaten them with that?"

"Again: I was angry at them," she answered.

"So you decided to hurt them."

"I didn't attack them!" Maddie shouted indignantly. She knew what Rose had meant, but maybe pretending to be a little stupid might help to get out of trouble.

"Your _words_ were meant to hurt, weren't they?" Rose clarified with a raised eyebrow.

"They are just words, it is up to them what they do with it," Maddie argued.

Rosalie huffed. "Maddie, can't you see? They were devastated because losing a member of the family is the worst that can happen to anyone. And telling them that they'd be the ones who would end your life was very cruel. You have the ability to follow through with your threat, whether you meant what you said or not, and that horrified them."

Maddie just shrugged her shoulders.

"They are your parents and they love you very much. Can't you understand what it would do to them to lose their daughter?"

"I just wanted to upset them, I never planned to follow through with it," Maddie replied meekly.

"How would they know?"

Again, Maddie just shrugged her shoulders.

No, no, no, shrugging wasn't good enough for Rose right now. "I want you to answer me."

"But it's not fair! I'm never allowed to do anything, because they make every single decision for me ... so I just wanted to show them how it feels like to not have a choice."

"That was a little extreme, don't you think?"

"It. wasn't. that. bad!" Maddie sounded frustrated and a little angry. _Was Rose stupid or something?_

"Yes, it was. They would lose their own child!" Rosalie huffed.

"I didn't think about it that way," Maddie looked at her, then down at her hands.

"What do you mean?"

"You said they changed me for themselves. I just wanted to take that from them," she explained in a subdued voice.

Rose squinted at her, trying to understand what her sister was implying. "They changed you out of love, Maddie."

Maddie looked at her as if she was kidding her.

Yes, she still had trouble believing that they had - after just a couple of days - loved her enough to change her. They hadn't known her, after all.

"They changed me to keep me," Maddie snapped, her eyes narrowed to slits.

_Oh._ Now that was the problem for Maddie's anger, Rosalie realised.

She sighed and shook her head. "You got that wrong."

_What the ...?_ "No! You said so yourself!" Maddie shouted and jumped up.

"Oh dear ... Maddie, listen to me: Yes, I think they changed you not only for you but for themselves, too, but only because they loved you and didn't want to lose you." Rosalie said and pulled Maddie back to sit on the bed again.

Maddie complied and frowned.

"You don't see it that way? But you know they love you, don't you?"

"Yes, they do _now,_" Maddie clarified.

Rosalie shook her head. "No, they did right from the beginning. But either way - the thought of losing you was the reason why they were so scared by what you said to them in the forest."

Maddie curled a strand of her hair around her index finger while thinking about it.

Now it dawned on her. She had thought that she got changed because she had been like a shiny new toy to her parents. So she just wanted to take that from them, but had not taken into consideration that they, well, have come to love her by now.

So she had kind of screwed up by ignoring that tiny little fact. But she had been so angry with her parents! It can happen that you don't think clearly when pissed off, right?

"Oh," Maddie breathed.

"Do you understand it now?"

"I guess."

"Would you like to go downstairs now and talk to them?" Rosalie asked. A talk between Maddie and their parents was inevitable to resolve the matter.

"No." _Thank you, but No, thank you._ Maddie really wasn't in the mood for talking anymore.

Rose sighed, then hugged Maddie. It was surprising that there were still so many misconceptions occurring - she thought they had everything covered by now.

"But you know that_ I_ love you, don't you?" She asked, just to make sure.

Maddie nodded.

"Really?"

Maddie rolled her eyes, then smiled. "_Really_. And I love you, too."

The remained like that for a little while, Maddie letting her head lean against her sister's shoulder, thinking about what had happened earlier.

Finally making the decision to better get it over with, she exhaled and said, "Okay. I'll talk to Mom."

Rosalie pulled away to look Maddie in the eye. "I am glad to hear that. Shall I send her upstairs?"

Maddie nodded her head, then let her upper body fall back onto her bed.

Ugh, sometimes she plain hated talking. If her family knew that she screwed up that often, then why did they still want to talk about it? It's nothing new, right?

Not even ten minutes later someone knocked at the open door.

"Maddie?" Esme called from the door. She looked harassed and Maddie felt a little pang of guilt, because she knew that she was the one who had done that to her.

"Come in," Maddie said while sitting up.

So her mother entered, closed the door behind herself and walked over to the bed to sit down next to Maddie. Then she turned a little so that she could face her daughter.

When Esme didn't say anything but just looked at Maddie, Maddie started to feel a little uncomfortable. She tilted her head to the side and tentatively asked, "Are you all right?"

Well, what else could she say?

"I'm better - relieved - but I am not all right, honey," her mother responded honestly.

"Sorry," Maddie murmured.

Esme took a deep breath before saying, "Rosalie told us that you didn't mean what you said to us."

"Uh-huh."

"And you didn't mean to hurt us that way."

"Yes."

She sighed. "Maddie, we love you. I just cannot understand how you could ever block that out. That hurts me the most."

And then something in Maddie took over again. She wasn't exactly at fault here, she figured. There was a huge difference between words and actions, and she had only made one empty threat, whereas her parents _always_ treated her like a child.

_What's worse, huh?_

And that her mother now told her how she had hurt her was just plain wrong!

"Well, you hurt me by never letting me _do_ _anything,_" she countered.

"And you thought threatening to make us murder you would be an appropriate method to get what you wish for?" Esme asked calmly.

"It seemed like a good way to start." Maddie shrugged dismissively.

Esme was not happy about how her daughter seemed to be quite unperturbed about what she had done. "Madeline, don't you see the graveness of this matter?"

"Mom, don't blame me for the fact that you start crying for no reason," Maddie commented with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Esme's eyebrows shot up at hearing and seeing that. What has gotten into her daughter? Why was she so insolent with her?

"You made us believe we would soon end your life! I love you more than you could ever imagine and your words petrified me," she told her, her voice slightly cracking.

"I didn't _mean_ it! It's your own fault if you cannot tell the difference."

Seeing that her daughter obviously was in a bad mood and determined to take it out on her, Esme spoke very softly in an attempt to soothe Maddie's anger. "I thought I would lose you." She really hoped they could continue this talk without Maddie's disrespect now.

"Well, you won't lose me. Everything is all right again," Maddie snapped and narrowed her eyes. Actually, she was annoyed. Now it was back to the way it was before - her parents would continue to want her home as much as possible and she wouldn't be allowed to spend time on her own somewhere else.

_Perfect._

"It is not all right, sweetheart. I don't understand how you can be so unfazed by this matter. You made that threat for a reason," Esme said, indicating that she wasn't done talking. She wanted to discuss this now.

"Fine. I said what I said because I don't believe you changed me out of love. Honestly, that isn't possible," Maddie snapped at her mother, then turned her head away.

Esme put a hand on Maddie's knee so she would look at her again. She wanted her daughter's full attention, wanted her to see that she was telling her nothing but the truth. "But we did."

"I don't believe you. You didn't know shit about me," Maddie replied spitefully.

Esme took a deep breath, not liking her daughter's language very much. But then she decided to not dwell on her poor choice of words and discuss the matter in hand instead. "I cannot tell you anything different, because then I would be lying, dear."

Maddie turned her head away again so she wouldn't be looking at her mother anymore, and said rudely, "Ugh, don't give me that crap."

"Madeline, please mind your language and hear me out," Her mother chided. Her daughter was really trying her patience and she wanted for that to stop.

Maddie snorted and crossed her arms. "No, thanks."

"_Excuse me?_" Esme asked in disbelief. Her daughter's behaviour had turned undeniably atrocious now.

"I don't wanna listen to you because you are full of shit," Maddie replied stubbornly. Of course she knew better than to talk to her mother that way, but she was just so damn annoyed that she didn't care at all.

When Esme spoke again, her voice was strict and admonishing - she was fed up with her daughter's disrespect, that much was clear. "Listen to me, and listen closely: I won't be spoken to like that. If you are disagreeing with what I say you may voice your opinion, but do so respectfully, am I understood?"

"Yes," Maddie replied, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. What was wrong with Esme? She went from being close to tears to rebuking. Schizo much?

Esme gave her a warning look, before saying, "Now. You might not believe it, but we cared about you right from the beginning. Alice's visions were fate, and we knew it. We were overjoyed and -"

Maddie lost the battle then and rolled her eyes, muttering: "_That's fucking ridiculous._"

And that was the last straw.

Esme quickly reached out, seized her daughter by the upper arm and deftly pulled her over her lap. Maddie didn't even have the chance to put up a fight because she was completely dumbstruck.

But lying in a prone position over her mother's lap wasn't the only thing that happened.

All of a sudden a number of sharp swats rained upon her backside and unfortunately for Maddie, her jeans weren't offering much protection.

After half a dozen of spanks, Maddie yelped when Esme's hand connected with her behind twice more, even harder than before to drive the point home.

The moment Maddie felt the grip around her waist loosening, she jumped up and took several steps backwards, staring at her mother open-mouthed. Her face definitely would have been beet-red if it could.

"What the ...? Mom!" Maddie managed to say, still trying to get over the shock. Her mother - yes, _mother!_ - had just freaking spanked her butt. No, no, no, no, no ... that was _not_ supposed to happen. Her Mom was the sweet, caring person, who always comforted Maddie and was lenient towards her. She even left the house when Maddie got a spanking, for fuck's sake! _Huh?_

Esme kept a straight face.

She just sat there and looked at Maddie as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened here.

"_OW!_" Maddie then clarified for her mother, holding one hand palm up out in front of her to underline that she expected an explanation, while her other hand was busy trying to rub the sting out of her behind. It had been a brief spanking, but that didn't change the fact that it hurt!

Now that the shock subsided, the pain and guilt gradually became more prominent and Maddie's eyes filled with venom.

Esme was with her in the wink of an eye and put a hand on either side of Maddie's face. Now that her daughter was cured of her insolence they could talk, Esme decided.

"I love you more than you'll ever know and I cannot bear the thought of losing you. So don't you ever, _ever_ say something like that again," she whispered with authority in her voice. Her eyes showed honesty and love, and then she hugged Maddie to herself.

Maddie felt awful, knowing what her mother was referring to. And her butt hurt. But the hug was so comforting, so loving that she hugged her Mom back.

And then the tears spilled over and Maddie cried into her mother's shoulder.

* * *

><p><strong>Tee-hee ... what do you think? And what will Carlisle do? Or was the talk with Esme enough?<strong>

**Tell me in your REVIEW and I'll update as soon as I can! **


	44. Chapter 44

**Merry Christmas!**

**In between wrapping presents, making cookies and decorating the tree, I wanted to take a minute to post another chapter for you guys! I really have to hurry now, I have about three Christmas chapters planned, but they are not written yet :-/ **

**Aaaand ... **

**We have officially reached over 300 reviews! Woah! ... when did that happen?**

** But of course I'll reward you for taking the time to review my story. Make a wish! You know the drill. Whatever you wish, you'll get (One-shots (just remember to tell me exactly what it should be about), something dedicated to you, questions, longer chapters, more updates, ... idk!) :-) So don't be shy, it's Christmas and I am in a good mood! **

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><p>"Esme, my love, I have to admit that I am more than just a little surprised," Carlisle commented and put his pen down. He was sitting at his desk in his study, doing something work related when his wife entered.<p>

She smirked a little.

"May I ask what happened up there?" he asked when she didn't say anything while approaching him.

"We tried to solve the matter," Esme replied in her usual soft voice.

"Solve the matter?" Carlisle queried and took her hand in his.

She nodded. "Yes, we talked."

"Judging from the sounds that filled the house mere minutes ago, you obviously did more than just talking."

"Yes," she affirmed.

"I would have never thought you would spank our youngest. That was quite unexpected."

"Carlisle, you know I am not opposed to spankings when earned. And that little girl up there was pushing her luck." Esme usually wasn't the one to administer corporal punishment, but that didn't mean that she was completely against that type of punishment. With her patience and love she just tried different approaches before resorting to this.

"What did she do?"

Esme groaned while leaning against the desk. "Never before has she been that disrespectful and insolent to me. In addition, she wasn't willing to hear me out and instead made more rude remarks, so I had to put her in her place."

Carlisle was certainly not thrilled to hear that one of his children had disrespected his wife. "Do you want me to talk to her? She knows better than to behave in such a way." He didn't wish to undermine his wife's position, but he had told Maddie countless times to be respectful no matter how upset she might be.

Esme chuckled, which startled her husband.

"No, I think these few swats were enough to remind her of her manners. She was aghast when I put her over my knee."

"She didn't expect you to take drastic measures, did she?"

"No, that caught her completely off guard."

"The poor girl," Carlisle said sympathetically.

Esme had to laugh at that.

"She'll live, that could barely called a spanking. And a little embarrassment will do her good."

"I still would like to see her, to make sure she is all right."

"Maybe she needs her father now after her mother had been so _very horrible_ to her."

Carlisle kissed her, then put his arms around her. "You did the right thing."

"I know. I certainly don't feel bad." And she really didn't. Maddie had been warned, several times, but still decided to be rude.

"You talked about everything then, I assume?"

"Yes, so don't you dare give her a hard time. She feels bad for what she said to us, so let us not dwell on the subject any longer." So now she was back to being overly protective of her youngest again.

"I won't, no need to worry."

* * *

><p>Knocking on Maddie's door, Carlisle opened when he heard his daughter's strained voice mumbling a "Yes?"<p>

She stood with her arms wrapped around herself by her window, looking out.

"Sweetheart," he said, which made her turn around.

The moment she saw him, her eyes turned even sadder than before and she looked like she was about to cry again.

Carlisle hurried towards her and embraced her in a tight hug.

"Daddy ...," she whined and started sobbing pitifully.

"Ssh, Daddy's here. Don't cry, everything is all right, princess."

When she got a little calmer, he walked with her over to the bed, sat down and pulled her to sit on his lap.

"Why are you still so upset, hm?"

Maddie opened her mouth, but no sound came out. So eventually she just said, "I don't know."

Carlisle pulled a tissue from his pocket and dried the trails of venom tears on his daughter's face. She had been on an emotional roller coaster for the last couple of days and now it all came to the surface that's why he had wisely brought some kleenex.

"Do you feel better?" he asked her after a moment.

Maddie nodded her head, then grimaced, which didn't go unnoticed by her Dad.

"What is it?" he queried. Now that they were dealing with everything, he wanted to make sure that there were no unsolved matters.

Fidgeting a little, Maddie then cupped her hand to her Dad's ear and whispered, "Mommy spanked me."

Then she gave him a meaningful look and nodded her head, because she expected him to be just as shocked about it as she was.

He chuckled softly and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "She just gave you a few swats, sweetheart."

Maddie pouted at hearing that. Why was he okay with Esme spanking her? That was never supposed to happen!

He sighed. "You didn't expect that to happen, now did you?"

She shook her head. No, she _definitely_ didn't expect that to happen.

"Well, you know you shouldn't be rude. Your mother just reminded you of that."

She hesitated for a second, before asking, "She's not mad at me anymore, is she?"

"No, of course not." Maddie always needed reassurance after she had misbehaved, like she knew they loved her but still expected them to kick her out - it was a shrewd problem.

"Are you mad at me?" she queried timidly.

"No, princess, I am not," her father replied and stroked her hair affectionately.

Maddie sighed and leaned back against her father's chest, completely at ease now.

She looked kind of tired, he noticed. Well, she couldn't really be tired, but she was certainly emotionally exhausted. Everything was more complicated with her than with his other children and she mostly didn't think things through like they did. That way she had many a time caused herself distress where it absolutely hadn't been necessary.

He was aware that she felt bad about what she had said to them but at hearing that everything was all right again helped her to finally let go.

When he gazed at his young daughter again, he noticed that her eyes were closed and she didn't move. And that was the first time she truly 'fell asleep' on him.

* * *

><p>"Hello," Alice said when she entered the living room, joining Maddie on the couch.<p>

"Hey," Maddie replied and continued to flip through a magazine, not even looking at the pages.

"Why are you sad?" Alice suddenly asked cautiously. Maddie had gone back to normal during the last couple of days, but today something was off, Jasper had said to her.

"I'm not," she answered in a voice that held no emotion whatsoever.

"You are, Jasper told me."

Maddie frowned at her. "What's it to him?"

Alice looked surprised at her sister's question.

"He doesn't want you to be sad and was wondering what is bothering you," She stated matter-of-factly.

"Nothing."

"So ... it makes you sad that nothing is bothering you?" Alice asked and scrunched up her face.

Maddie rolled her eyes and gave a tiny smile. "Alice ..."

"I am just saying ... it sounds pretty much crazy. Are you crazy?" She tilted her head to the side and looked at Maddie with wide eyes as if curiously waiting for an answer.

Maddie put her magazine down on the coffee table and stretched out. "It's nothing."

But Alice's scrutinising look made Maddie answer in the end. "I called Tanya."

"You did?" Alice raised her eyebrows.

"Uh-huh."

When Maddie didn't explain any further, Alice prompted, "... what did she say?"

"Well, I asked her if we would celebrate Christmas all together, but she said they wouldn't be home for Christmas." Maddie's voice turned sadder at the end.

"Oh," Alice remarked, finally understanding what was bothering her little sister.

Maddie bit her lip and nodded.

Alice reached out and rubbed Maddie's upper arm in a comforting manner. "Don't be sad."

"I'm not, I don't even give a fuck," Maddie replied and lightly kicked against the table, making it scoot forwards. She was sad, but tried to keep it a secret.

"When I said, 'Don't be sad', I didn't mean for you to be mad instead," Alice clarified, just in case. She didn't want Maddie to break the poor coffee table.

"I just ... I don't know."

Alice sighed, then grabbed Maddie's hand before saying, "Maddie, they are not abandoning you."

"But I haven't seen them in forever," Maddie replied, sounding dejected. She pulled her hand from Alice's grip, only to fold it in her lap.

"It's barely a year. That is not a long time."

Maddie hung her head.

"It is to me," she whispered.

Alice sighed and scooted closer to her sister, taking her hand again.

"Is it so bad to celebrate Christmas with us?"

Maddie's eyes grew wide then. She wasn't sad that she would be celebrating Christmas with her family, she was just sad that she hadn't seen their relatives for some time and probably wouldn't for another while. The prospect alone of celebrating Christmas with Rose and Emmett was fabulous! "No, of course not! But ..."

"It'll be great, I have already seen it," Alice smiled broadly.

Maddie didn't look convinced when she asked in a little voice, "Are you sure?"

"Trust me on this. Hey, what are you planning on wearing to the Christmas play your school is having?"

"Huh?" That confused Maddie.

"They sent a letter. Esme was a little startled that you haven't talked about it yet," Alice told her.

"Oh. Yeah. I'm not going," Maddie commented while grabbing the remote.

"But your English class will be singing. Shouldn't you participate?"

Thile turning the TV on, she told Alice, "I'm not into this kind of stuff. I don't wanna go."

Alice sounded a little whiny now. "But we'll all be there."

"Then tell me how you liked it afterwards," Maddie responded and rolled her eyes, all the while zapping through the channels.

"But it'll be fun!" Alice so wanted to see her sister onstage, singing. It would be a beautiful evening.

Maddie glanced at Alice. "Have you ever been to a junior high Christmas play before?"

"Not that I remember."

So Maddie cleared her throat, readying herself to explain. "Ok, trust me: It is not fun. It is boring and everything goes wrong and parents only clap their hands out of politeness and because they don't wanna tell their children that they actually suck ass."

That left Alice a little harassed-looking. "And I thought you love Christmas."

"I do, that's why I don't wanna ruin it," Maddie smiled at Alice and winked.

"I'll go pick something for you to wear!" Alice exclaimed and jumped up from the couch, running into the direction of the stairs.

"Hey!" she complained, then ran after her sister.

Upstairs in her room, Maddie granted her sister the fun of choosing an outfit for her because she wouldn't go to the play anyway. What harm could it do?

But when Alice got seriously carried away, Emmett luckily walked into the room and asked them if they would care to join him and Rose on a hunt. Maddie gladly accepted, and even Alice thought it was a good idea ... only to distract Maddie from what Tanya had told her.

* * *

><p>"Yes, thank you. We'll be there. Goodbye," Carlisle hung up and pushed the phone away from himself, then let his head rest in his hands and sighed.<p>

Just at that moment, his children pooled into the house - they had been hunting for the last couple of hours.

"Madeline? Would you step in here for a moment?" Carlisle asked while sitting in dining room.

"No, no, no! Shoes off, they are all bloody! Madeline, please!" Esme called, and mere seconds later, Maddie walked into the dining room just like Carlisle had asked her to.

"Hey Dad," she said and came to a halt next to him.

"I just got a phone call about you," he informed her.

"... Congratulations?" _What did he want?_

He sat up straighter now. "Madeline, your school called. Could you tell me why?"

"No."

"You have no idea why your principal would want to speak to Esme and me tomorrow?" Carlisle queried with raised eyebrows.

"I really don't know. I haven't done anything," Maddie replied distractedly while playing with her bracelet.

"All right, then we'll find out tomorrow."

Maddie nodded and walked out of the room, heading for the stairs.

"What was that about?" Rose asked with a frown, ascending the stairs with her little sister.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "School called."

Her eyes widened. "What did you do?"

Maddie groaned. "Ugh. Why does everybody assume I did something? I don't have a clue why they called."

"I apologise."

"Good."

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? Did Maddie get in trouble at school or is she telling the truth? Dundundun ...<strong>

**REVIEW :-)**

**Oh, and let me know if you have a wish! **


	45. Chapter 45

**Quick, huh? *g***

**I'll try to answer your wishes when I'm done with the Christmas chapters, all right with you?**

**twilight1987: How was the turkey? ;-) I'm just making cookies while my Mom does all the cooking. So the food is great right now! Yay Christmas!**

**Now go ahead and read the chapter! **

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><p>Carlisle drove Maddie to school in the morning. He and Esme wouldn't have to be there until a couple of hours later for their appointment with the school's principal.<p>

It was quite peculiar that she would want to talk to them concerning Maddie, but Maddie pledged she didn't do anything, so they had to believe her.

They couldn't help but suspect something bad - they had enough experience with six children, after all. This wasn't the first time they were called into a school to have a talk with the headmaster.

And it certainly wasn't the first time they had to come to school because of something Maddie did. The talk with the principal of Forks Junior High had sunken deep into memory of both Carlisle and Esme.

So now they were nervous.

* * *

><p>"Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, Mrs. Jacobs is now ready to receive you." the secretary said and led Carlisle and Esme over to the principal's office.<p>

She knocked first, then opened the office door, said "Dr. and Mrs. Cullen." and left again after giving them a little smile. She was a nice lady.

The principal stood up from her chair behind the dark desk. "Nice to see you again, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. Please, take a seat."

They greeted her, shook hands and sat down on the chairs standing in front of the desk.

Mrs. Jacobs pushed a strand of her blond hair behind her ear, then pushed her golden rimmed glasses higher up her nose and pressed her lips together in a tight line for a moment. "I am not sure if you know why I invited you here. It pains me to say that I don't have pleasant news for you, but hopefully I am just misinformed."

"Please go on, Mrs. Jacobs. Madeline couldn't tell us either," Carlisle told the principal.

"It has been brought to my attention that your daughter might develop what you would call an eating disorder," she said carefully, not knowing how they would react to that.

"An eating disorder? How is that possible?" Esme gasped, looking concerned. It was an act, of course.

Carlisle placed a hand on Esme's folded ones and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand in a comforting manner. Acting in front of humans was a big part of their life, so they had no trouble playing the overly concerned parents now.

It was bound to happen that sooner or later someone would notice that Maddie did not eat. Her siblings kept to themselves at school and mostly ignored the other students, so it might be easier for them to hide that little fact. But Maddie was surrounded by humans, and had nobody else to talk to during classes, recess and lunch breaks. Of course there would be questions.

"You see, one of Madeline's classmates told our school nurse that she had witnessed Madeline being sick in one of the restrooms. Several times, right after lunch."

Carlisle frowned. "She didn't tell us that she's been feeling sick lately. Is this girl sure it was our Maddie?"

"I am afraid so."

Esme swallowed heavily, before stating, "Our daughter does not have an eating disorder, Mrs. Jacobs." She was the perfect image of a mother who was in denial.

"You see, young girls are very prone to develop anorexia or bulimia, what with all the media propagating certain ideals of beauty. Dr. Cullen, as a doctor, have you noticed any change in your daughter's behaviour lately?"

He looked pensive for a moment, but then shook his head no. "No, I haven't. Would it be possible to let our daughter join in the conversation about this matter? Maybe she can explain what her classmate had witnessed. It might be a misunderstanding, after all."

"Of course." The principal pressed a button on her phone, then said, "Mrs. Fisher, would you be so kind as to go get Madeline Cullen from her class and bring her to my office, please?"

"Yes, I'll bring her right over."

They sat in the office for a few minutes, waiting, until there was a knock at the door.

The principal asked the person to come in, so the door opened and in walked Maddie, looking nervous.

_Well, come on, wouldn't you be nervous when in a room with your parents and the principal of your school?_

"There you are! Take a seat, please, Madeline." Mrs. Jacobs smiled and pointed to a chair right next to Carlisle.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"Don't be nervous, you haven't done anything wrong. We would just like to talk to you about something," Mrs. Jacobs tried to reassure the girl, for she really hadn't misbehaved.

Maddie nodded her head, but still didn't look at ease.

The principal implied with a nod of her head for Carlisle to talk to Maddie, because he might know how to best approach this difficult matter with his daughter.

"Sweetie, Mrs. Jacobs just told us that you might have some problems."

"I do?" Maddie scrunched up her nose, not liking that she had problems. "What kind of problems?"

"A girl witnessed you being sick in the restrooms."

Maddie looked at him with raised eyebrows.

_Oh, sweet!_

Now she would be acting with her parents, she thought excitedly. An unscripted play exclusively performed for Maddie's principal. _Here we go!_

"Is that true? Have you been sick lately?" Carlisle asked, sounding careful and concerned at the same time.

"No, I'm fine," Maddie shook her head.

Carlisle took Maddie's hand in his and told her in a reassuring voice, "We just want you to know that you do not have to be afraid or ashamed."

Maddie seemed to feel uneasy. "What would I be ashamed of?" she asked with a frown, then looked between her father and the principal.

"The girl said that most of the time you do not eat during lunch break," Mrs. Jacobs told her. She wanted to carefully let Maddie in on the information they had, so she would hopefully give honest answers. They wouldn't be able to help her if she felt like she was with her back to the wall because of their way of questioning.

"Yes, I don't," She affirmed and gave her principal an apologetic look. Besides, she never ate during lunch break, not just 'most of the time'.

"Don't you feel hungry? Or do you prefer to eat somewhere else instead of in the cafeteria?"

Suddenly Esme sighed. "Oh, Mrs. Jacobs, I can explain that. Our daughter has several food intolerances, like lactose or gluten and she is highly allergic to peanuts. Therefore she has a big breakfast in the morning before school, and eats again when she comes home. I prepare her food. She has had bad experiences while eating out."

"So she doesn't take anything with her? Not even a snack?" That sounded quite unhealthy, the principal thought.

"No. She has never really liked eating lunch, not even as a little child," Esme explained.

The principal was stunned.

"I'm a breakfast person ... and then I don't feel hungry for a while." Maddie shrugged.

"But what did your classmate witness then?"

Shaking her head slightly, Maddie said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know. I wasn't sick at school. How could I be sick after lunch if I didn't eat lunch?"

"I believe you. But still, I would feel better if you talked to someone about your eating habits. Our school nurse is a fully qualified nutritional adviser."

Maddie looked up at her father then, unsure of what to say. Was it rude to decline? Or should she agree to talk to the nurse about her nonexistent human eating habits?

Carlisle cleared his throat. "Mrs. Jacobs, I appreciate your concern, but I am fairly sure that our daughter is developing healthily. I do like your idea of Madeline talking to a nutritional adviser, though. But truth be told, I would prefer for it to be with a colleague of mine at Forks Community Hospital. I have known her for quite a while now and I utterly trust her judgment. The necessary tests could be made immediately as well."

"If you prefer for it to be that way, sure," The principal answered, then gazed at Maddie through her golden-rimmed glasses. "Is that all right with you, Madeline?"

"Okay. I just don't want you to think I'm sick." She sounded a little worried.

"Nobody thinks you're sick, dear. It is just to make sure that you are healthy, and continue to stay healthy."

"Okay."

Carlisle was happy with the result of this talk. "Mrs. Jacobs, would it be all right if our daughter left together with us now? I would like to take her to the hospital today to talk to our nutritional adviser."

"Of course. This matter has top priority."

"Thank you very much."

"Madeline? You may go to your class and retrieve your books and utensils. Mrs. Fisher will take you there and inform your teacher of your leave."

"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."

The secretary accompanied Maddie to her class, told the teacher what was going on while Maddie walked to the back of the classroom. She formed a little heart with her fingers and puckered her lips as if giving someone a kiss. That was meant for the silly girl that was trying to get her in trouble. No need to say that Maddie knew exactly who that was. Unfortunately for the girl it did not work out like she had planned, because Maddie looked happy and was even allowed to leave early.

Ha ha.

She grabbed her stuff from her table, whispered bye to some of the girls, then left with the secretary again to meet up with her parents.

* * *

><p>"That was fun!" Maddie squealed after they had left the school building; she was skipping around like a bouncy ball.<p>

"Calm yourself, Maddie," Carlisle said, but smiled in amusement at his daughter's excitement. He knew she loved telling people utter nonsense and that she could leave school early today was a welcome bonus for her.

Esme suddenly remembered something. "Maddie ... why would a girl say she saw you being sick in the restrooms? What happened?"

And Maddie suddenly stopped. "How would I know?" she asked and tilted her head to the side. "I haven't been sick." Then she continued to skip around.

So it had indeed been a misunderstanding.

"Come, Maddie," Esme then said and held her hand out for Maddie to take. "Don't linger."

Maddie closed the distance between them and grabbed her Mom's hand, then grimaced slightly while whining, "But I don't like hospitals, Mom ... do I have to go there for show and talk about food?"

"No, princess," Carlisle answered immediately and patted her hair. "I'll call your principal tomorrow and tell her that everything is all right."

"It's kind of funny though, isn't it? An eating disorder? _Me?_" She laughed at the absurdity of it. Her parents didn't think for it to be _that_ funny, because they remembered the physical condition she had been in before they had turned her. Thank God it could never get that far again.

Her father opened the rear door of his Mercedes for Maddie to climb in.

When they all were seated and buckled up, Esme turned around in her seat to look at Maddie and queried, "What would you like to do now, sweetheart?"

"I can choose?"

"Yes, whatever you like."

Maddie thought for a moment, before her face lit up and she asked, "Uh! Can we make Christmas cookies? Like gingerbread or something?" She sounded so excited that it made them chuckle.

"You enjoy baking?"

"We always made cookies during Christmas time. We made sooo many, so we could bring them to the soup kitchen for the people who didn't have a home like us. Oh, and we need to make some for the Christmas party at school. I volunteered to work at the cookie stand," Maddie explained then looked out of the window.

Two days from now, her school would host a Christmas party with plays, songs and different stands were postcards, Christmas decorations and cookies could be bought. The proceeds of the sale would be donated to a good cause.

Esme and Carlisle exchanged a look. It was surprising that Maddie would talk about her human parents with them - she was normally very reluctant to share memories of her past.

"I think that is a fantastic idea, Maddie," Esme praised, which made Maddie look back up at her and smile. "But we need to go to the store first - we don't have any ingredients for gingerbread."

"Oh, ok." Maddie nodded her head. "Can we go home first so I can change?"

"I need to go to work, dear, so we don't have that much time. But it's still early, no one will see you, I am sure." He knew that Maddie hated her uniform, but it would only take a couple of minutes to buy the ingredients needed.

Maddie sighed.

"Okay... but you're always working. You're never home with us," she remarked with a little pout.

Carlisle felt a pang of guilt. It was true - he worked a lot at the hospital here in Forks and wasn't home much, but Maddie had never told him that it upset her. Especially during the last couple of weeks he had worked more shifts than usual ... had that been a reason why she had acted up so much?

"I apologise. I'll be home for the Christmas holidays, so we can celebrate together."

Maddie's head shot up. "You're not working during Christmas?"

"No, honey, I am not. I'll be home," he replied while steering his car onto the highway in the direction of Forks.

"What if some humans get hurt and need an operation?"

"Dr. Fitzgerald will be the doctor on duty."

About twenty minutes later, they parked in front of the little convenience store in the center of Forks. Maddie got out of the car, too, because Esme wanted her to choose sprinkles and what not to decorate the Christmas cookies they were going to make that afternoon.

While Esme and Carlisle were still talking about something, Maddie went ahead and entered the shop.

"Hello, Mr. Smith," she greeted the old man behind the counter who owned the store.

He squinted at her before a smile appeared on his wrinkly face. "Maddie, isn't it? I haven't seen you here in quite a while. How are you?"

"I'm good. How is your back? Is it better?"

"Yes, a little. But I'm old, my back won't get much better anymore."

"You're not that old," Maddie told him with a cute smile.

"That is very kind of you, dear. Now tell me, what can I do for you?"

At that moment, Esme and Carlisle stepped into the store and greeted the old man.

Maddie looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her mother smiled when their eyes met and she asked, "We are going to make cookies today. Could you tell us where to find the ingredients needed?"

"The third row on the left, Mrs. Cullen."

"Thank you. Come along, Maddie," she chirped and grabbed a shopping basket from a stack next to the door.

They chose what they needed, while Carlisle asked Mr. Smith about his wife's condition. She had gotten an artificial hip joint during an operation that he had performed. The Smiths were a really nice elderly couple, and he wished them well.

When Esme and Maddie walked up to the counter, Maddie carrying the basket with things they wanted to purchase, Mr. Smith looked up again. He grabbed his glasses from right next to himself and put them on his nose, saying, "What am I seeing there, Maddie? You are wearing a school uniform?"

"Yes, Sir." Maddie smiled and placed the basket on the counter in front of the old man.

"She is student at a school in Fairholm," Carlisle added and rubbed Maddie's shoulder. He knew she didn't like being seen in her uniform or worse talk about it, but she was still very polite.

"Oh, yes, yes. It's a school for girls only, isn't it?" he asked and placed the goods into a bag.

Maddie grimaced. "It is."

He chuckled when he saw her facial expression. "Education is important, dear, your parents know why they send you there."

"It is a very good school," Esme affirmed.

Mr. Smith told Carlisle how much he owed him, and Carlisle paid while Maddie grabbed the bag to carry it to the car.

"Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mr. Smith," Maddie said before opening the door.

"Merry Christmas to you, too. Have a nice day," he told them. They said their goodbyes, then walked outside to the car.

"I wasn't aware you know Mr. Smith, Maddie," Carlisle said to her.

"Yes. Em and I go shopping for magazines here," Maddie replied and placed the bag in the trunk, then walked over to the rear door and got in.

"You have been very polite to him."

That they would always mention that ... "He's cool ... even though he smells like old people," she said and buckled up, because she knew that her father wanted them to always use the seat belt while driving. He was a doctor, after all.

* * *

><p>"Why are you home this early?" Rose asked when she stepped into the kitchen and saw her mother and younger sister using some cookie cutters on some dark brown dough which smelled of brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon and other spices.<p>

"I have an eating disorder." Maddie grinned at her blond sister and placed a gingerbread man on the waiting baking sheet.

Rosalie frowned while Emmett entered and laughed at Maddie's answer. "You have an eating disorder, Mad?"

Maddie nodded her head and giggled.

"Maddie's principal was concerned about her health, and wanted to let us know."

"The same happened to me about four years ago," Alice chimed in and smiled. Yes, sometimes people did notice them not eating anything.

"And what will you be doing now?" Rosalie asked Esme.

"Your father told Mrs. Jacobs that Maddie would be talking to a nutritional adviser at the hospital to find out whether or not she is indeed having an eating disorder."

"Well, it is kind of true, isn't it? We don't drink human blood." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

Yes, for vampires they were indeed having an eating disorder.

"You'll take her to the hospital? I'm not sure if that is a good idea."

"No, no, don't worry. Carlisle will call the principal tomorrow and say that Maddie is healthy just the way she is," Esme replied and pinched Maddie's cheek.

Maddie lightly swatted at her Mom's hand, to make her let go.

"Oh, good," Rosalie replied at hearing this. She wasn't sure if Maddie was ready to set foot into a hospital full of tempting, as well as repulsive smells. It might be a little trying and besides, she knew that Maddie really didn't like hospitals. Never had, never will.

Wiping a smear of flour off her sister's cheekbone, she then eyed the gingerbread and said, "That looks pretty. What are you making them for?"

"It's for the Christmas celebration. We'll sell them - the money will be donated." Maddie was so glad that she would be selling cookies instead of standing onstage and singing - she really hadn't been in the mood for that.

"Awesome! Can I help with the sugar icing?" Emmett asked and looked over Maddie's shoulder to see what she was doing.

"Of course, love. But we have to put them in the oven first," Esme told her son.

He did look excited - just like Maddie. It was nice to be doing something together ... and to be using the kitchen, of course. They wouldn't eat the cookies, but making them was just as much fun, Esme figured.

However, it turned a little less fun for her when Maddie and Emmett got the idea of making zombie cookies with the red and green sugar icings and sprinkles. When they started talking about severed extremities, vast quantities of blood and rotting eyeballs, she was very close to banning them from the kitchen. But Alice helped to get them back to the task in hand - decorating the gingerbread so it would look like something humans would want to_ eat_ so Maddie could sell it all.

It turned still less fun for Esme when Maddie dared Emmett to eat one of the freshly baked cookies ... Emmett never said No to a dare. So he indeed ate one - he snuck it out of the kitchen so Esme wouldn't see, and Maddie had to give him one of her most cherished Dvds then.

Rosalie stormed into the kitchen a while later and was quite upset, complaining to Esme that her husband was throwing up in her neat bathroom.

Yes, it never got boring in the Cullen household. But all in all, it had been a wonderful afternoon.

* * *

><p>"Maddie?" Jasper called when he walked into the living room.<p>

He saw a hand being raised over the backrest of the couch, so he walked on and seated himself in the armchair, facing his little sister who was busy lying around and looking a little bored.

"Whazzup?" she asked lazily and glanced at him.

He hesitated for a moment, but then gave a nod and spoke. "I would like to ask a favour of you."

He waited for her reaction, hoping she would say Yes.

And indeed, he instantly felt that he had piqued her interest.

With one raised eyebrow and a little smirk on her lips, Maddie asked, "A favour? Of me?"

"Yes."

She sat up then, curiosity clearly visible in her golden eyes, and said, "Shoot."

"I would like to surprise Alice for once, so I was wondering if you could block her visions," he told her straightforwardly, but looked a little unsettled.

Would she help him?

He wasn't exactly her favourite big brother, after all. He hoped they could change that sometime. Now that she seemed to have fully accepted Esme and Carlisle as her parents, then maybe she was ready to work on their relationship, too. Jasper indeed loved having a baby sister, even though Maddie didn't realise it.

Maddie drew in a sharp breath after hearing what he wanted her to do.

"I don't think I can do that. She would know beforehand, Jasper." She sounded like she wanted to help him, but couldn't. Her gift was no match for Alice's, because she had to make the decision to use it. And Alice saw the freaking future the moment you decided on doing something! Figures, huh?

Jasper bent forward a little, letting his elbows rest on his knees, before pressing, "If she agrees, would you be willing to do it?"

"Sure." Maddie shrugged.

"That is a great idea," Rosalie remarked when she entered the living room and sat on the armrest of the couch next to Maddie.

"Really?" Maddie looked up at her sister, sounding slightly baffled at that statement.

Rose smirked, grabbed Maddie by the wrist and started to brush flour off her sleeve.

How did she manage to get so dirty? Or why was she still dirty? It had been hours since they had finished making cookies!

"Yes. Christmas is a little difficult with Alice, because she always knows what she is going to get. And she tells us off when she sees what one is planning on giving to her, and she doesn't approve of the gift."

"Oh." Maddie had never celebrated Christmas with them, so she had no idea what took place during that time.

"Then I'll do it," Maddie remarked resolutely and grinned. She liked the idea of helping to make this holiday special for everyone.

At that moment Jasper's phone buzzed. He fished it from his pocket and left the room while answering it.

All Rose and Maddie could hear was an aggravated voice on the other end of the line.

Rosalie smiled while tucking a strand of hair behind Maddie's ear.

"I think someone doesn't like the idea," she told her little sister and tried not to laugh.

But Maddie's determination started to falter. "I cannot do it as long as she doesn't agree. I don't wanna be in trouble."

If she would use her ability on Alice without her explicit consent, she'd get a right royal dressing down and a sound hiding from their parents. No need to say that she didn't want that to happen. In fact, she intended to not get into any trouble with Carlisle and Esme for as long as possible.

"Don't worry, you won't be in trouble. Alice will give her consent and I bet Esme and Carlisle will be very happy about it."

Suddenly Maddie gasped, sat up on her knees and looked at Rose with wide open eyes. "What about Edward?"

"Oh, you are right. Maybe his mind-reading should be blocked as well," she mused. It would only be fair, and Alice might be more likely to consent to loosing her visions when she wouldn't be the only 'blind' one.

"Will he agree?"

"Persuading him will be mere child's play in comparison to Alice," she replied and Maddie nodded.

She had already blocked his gift a couple of times and he had always seemed more at ease then. Well, he would start missing his ability after a couple of days, but otherwise it helped him relax his mind once in a while, he said.

"So?" Rosalie queried when Jasper came back into the room. "What did Alice say?"

"She'll be home soon and then we'll talk." After baking cookies, Alice had left the house to do some Christmas shopping. Her mood wouldn't be too good now, because her latest vision and the talk on the phone with Jasper made her come home earlier than she had actually planned.

"She thinks you're out of your mind, doesn't she?" Maddie questioned and laughed when he slumped into an armchair and groaned.

"You can put it that way, yes," he answered vaguely and leaned back.

* * *

><p><strong>No award for Maddie, haha! Do you really get awards at school? :) **

**Soooo ... what do you think? Will Alice agree? Huh?**

**I have an awesome idea for the next chapter, let's see if you'll like it! **

**REVIEW :-)**


	46. Chapter 46

**Hidey ho!**

**Seriously, these chapters write themselves right now! **

**patz13: I had a paper on politeness a week ago, I guess Maddie learned a little from me, haha! No, she is quite sweet to people she likes :-)**

**twilight1987: Cookies turned out great! I made five different sorts this time (my record was about sixty different sorts for Christmas a couple of years ago ... I am quite obsessed with baking and tend to get carried away sometimes ... oops, haha!) **

**Anyway, Christmas was awesome and tomorrow I'll go on a short vacation, weee! Yeah, we didn't get to have a white Christmas, so now we wanna have a white New Year's :D **

**Did you all enjoy Christmas? **

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><p>It became apparent that Alice wasn't happy about Jasper's idea. She stormed into the house through the front door, dropped several shopping bags right on the spot in the foyer and then stomped her feet all the way to the living room,where she knew she'd find Jasper and Maddie, watching TV.<p>

Jasper went rigid when he felt Alice's anger, while Maddie just turned around and smiled.

"Welcome back," she said happily and waved at Alice. Maddie knew Alice was pissed, but she thought it was kind of funny actually.

"Are you trying to torment me? Just tell me that I don't mean _anything_ to you anymore!" Alice shouted at Jasper.

Woah.

Maddie had never seen her livid.

Like, _really_ livid.

That wasn't too funny to be honest.

"Alice, you need to hear me out before accusing me of not loving you anymore!" Jasper begged and stood up from his seat.

She huffed. "You want to blind me!"

"It wears off after a couple of days," Maddie threw in, trying to be helpful.

"What if you do it wrong? I might be blind forever, thanks a lot!" Alice snapped at her, before continuing to glare at her husband.

"Jeez, take chill pill," Maddie commented and left the living room, heading for her own room on the topmost floor.

Blocking Alice's ability hadn't been her idea, so she shouldn't get yelled at.

* * *

><p>Jasper peeked into Maddie's room about two hours later.<p>

"It's time," he said.

Maddie looked up at him. "For real?" She couldn't believe that Alice would seriously agree. She had resembled an infuriated Harpy before ... how did he manage to persuade her?

"Yes. Are you still willing to do it?"

"Sure, no problem," Maddie replied, threw her magazine on the floor and walked towards him.

He didn't look too impressed that his sister would treat her stuff so carelessly, but she just grinned at him.

"Ah ah ah, my room - my stuff."

"Of course," he said, put a hand on her shoulder and together they descended the stairs.

To Maddie's surprise Edward was also there. He looked relaxed, while Alice had her arms crossed and glowered at them the moment they came into view.

Maddie stopped. Alice didn't look like she wanted to agree, and Maddie had no desire spending Christmas in a standing position.

"She already agreed, don't concern yourself with her attitude," Edward smirked. "And I am willing to give up my ability, too."

"Still - it's not fair. You haven't even bought presents yet. How am I supposed to know if this Christmas will turn out the way I planned?" Alice grumbled.

"You don't need to plan everything, darling," Jasper told her and sat down on the arm of the chair next to her, stroking her cheek softly.

"Fine ... then blind me, see what good it will do if Christmas is ruined." She was a little moody, but not angry anymore.

Maddie knelt on the floor in front of Alice and folded her arms on Alice's knees. She let her chin rest on top of it and looked up at her just like a little dog would.

"I won't do it if you don't want me to," she said softly.

Alice gaze turned softer at seeing her little sister's anxiety. She reached out and patted Maddie's hair.

"No, it's just ... I wanted this Christmas to be special for you."

"For me? But it is special already." Maddie smiled sweetly which made Alice smile, too.

"And maybe you'll like being surprised for once. We'll have a million Christmases together, what harm will it do if you're not having visions for one?"

Alice sighed, it was a long, drawn-out sigh. "All right, get it over with." She offered her hand, palm up, but squinched her eyes shut and turned her head to the side like Maddie was about to give her a shot and she just couldn't watch.

"Uhm, Alice?" Edward asked. When Alice had opened her eyes again and gazed at him, he said, "You need to look at her, otherwise she won't be able to do it properly."

Alice eyed Maddie, who looked apologetically up at her. Then Maddiegrabbed both her hands, and sat up on her knees so they would be closer to eye-level.

"Wait!" Alice called, clearly distressed. "... does it hurt? I mean, you are fumbling around with my brain."

Maddie shrugged. "I wouldn't know." Nobody had complained to her about a headache yet.

"It doesn't hurt, Alice. You just feel your mind relax and then there is a very strong bond between the two of you. Maddie makes you feel safe so you would want to comply with what she tells you."

"I make you feel safe?" Maddie snorted with laughter. "Really?"

She would have never guessed that it would feel that way when she manipulated somebody. She always thought she just made people weak-willed and then she would dictate them what to do.

_Well, you never stop learning..._

Edward nodded his head. "Yes, that is the only way I could possibly describe it."

"Awesome." Maddie liked that.

"Let us not delay it any further, Alice is quite nervous," Jasper urged. He had tried to calm her emotions before, but she hadn't wanted it so he immediately stopped.

"I cannot help it," Alice whined. She was a little scared, because she loved her visions - they were a part of her. What would it feel like not having them anymore?

But she also wanted to do it for Jasper - it obviously meant a lot to him. It was just surprising that he would trust Maddie's gift now - they always had gotten the impression that he deemed it to be quite dangerous.

Maddie intertwined her fingers then, stretching out as if preparing for a fight or something. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right side, stretching her neck.

Alice eyes widened.

"Sorry," Maddie said and gave her a sheepish smile. She didn't mean to cause Alice more distress, but she wanted to be all relaxed to be able to fully concentrate on blocking Alice's gift. Alice would probably try to resist her at first, and her ability was strong to say the least, so it would require a lot of willpower from Maddie to make Alice be unable to perceive her visions for a few days.

Maddie held both her hands out for Alice, who reluctantly put hers in Maddie's.

Jasper rubbed Alice's back comfortingly, while Maddie gave her an encouraging smile and told her that it would be all right, that she would concentrate like crazy so nothing could go wrong.

"Look me in the eyes and don't turn away," Maddie whispered, then tried to gain access to her sister's mind.

After a minute Maddie's lips pressed together tightly. "Stop fighting me, Alice, you need to let me in. Relax."

She didn't want to force her way into Alice's head, wanted for her to open up willingly instead. But Alice was anxious and so Maddie had to patiently probe into the mental barrier Alice had tried to built up.

It wouldn't have been a problem for Maddie to just drill into her sister's mind, but her conscience kept her from doing so. Alice had given her consent, so there was no need for unnecessary force.

And then it worked.

Maddie had full access, it was like a gate had been opened and she could place new thoughts and ideas into Alice's mind, trying to fill the blankness that presented itself for the time of the connection.

"You are unable to perceive any visions whatsoever. The future will remain a mystery to you, you will not know anything that might happen beforehand."

Alice's eyes stared back at Maddie, unblinking.

Taking a deep breath, Maddie slowly pulled back out, carefully severing the connection that had enabled her to manipulate her sister's gift.

Leaning back, Maddie ran her fingers through her hair, while Alice blinked owlishly - so she was coming back.

"How do you feel, love?" Jasper asked his wife when he noticed her stirring.

"I'm fine, even though I feel like something is missing."

"That would be your ability then," Edward commented with a smirk.

"It's your turn now, you promised." She grinned and lightly slapped his knee with the back of her hand.

"Give Maddie a minute." Jasper said while looking at little Maddie sitting on the floor. Her eyes were a nuance darker now - not much, just a little. Alice hadn't made it easy for her sister and Maddie needed to be focused on doing the same to Edward now.

"I'm okay, just ... phew. Okay, next one," Maddie uttered after rubbing her hands over her face, then blinked her eyes a couple of times.

She stood up and seated herself next to Edward, who seized her by the elbow in order to steady her. She was all right, but he just wanted to make sure.

She scooted back on the sitting surface, then turned to face her brother completely.

"Ready?" She asked and offered her hands for him to take.

"Ready."

* * *

><p>After Maddie had blocked their gifts, Jasper thanked her extensively. He seemed proud of her, even though Maddie didn't understand why. Then he offered to take her shopping, and asked her if she would be willing to help him choose some nice presents for the family.<p>

That made her smile, and they left with Rose and Esme.

And on the next day, they left again to do some Christmas shopping. Now that Alice couldn't see and Edward couldn't hear, the rest of the family was looking forward to surprise these two.

Only Alice stayed home.

She wasn't mad at Maddie, mind you, but she was sulking a little after realising to what extent Maddie's ability had numbed hers.

She couldn't see - _anything_.

Not even the tiniest glimpse of the future revealed itself to her.

She curled up on the couch and whined at the loss of her visions and since she had already purchased all presents, she wasn't in the mood for joining her family to buy even more.

But being all alone at home, failed by her gift and nothing watchable on TV, her mind was racing.

The thought of not knowing what she'll get for Christmas drove her insane.

And she didn't know what her siblings would be getting, either. It was only a couple of days until Christmas Eve and she didn't know _anything_!

How was she supposed to endure this? How was Christmas supposed to be perfect when she had no way of making sure that it would be?

She was torn between staying glued to the spot, trusting her family ... and checking on them.

Maybe she would just peek into their drawers real quick, making sure that they had already taken care of buying presents. No big deal, right?

She drummed her fingers on the armrest of the couch, breathing heavier now, until she couldn't take it anymore.

Bolting up the stairs, she then stormed into the first room she saw. It happened to be her parents' bedroom. During the last years they had always hid the presents in the closet of their bedroom, to make sure no one would find them by accident before Christmas.

Alice wrenched the door of the walk-in closet open, and pushed her parents' clothes to the sides, then knelt on the ground to look underneath them in search of wrapped up boxes.

Nothing.

_Nothing!_

How could that be? Where were the presents?

So she crawled out of the closet and looked under their bed, but she couldn't find anything.

The sideboards maybe, she mused.

But she couldn't find a single present. She cleared out every single drawer in gradually increasing irritation, sending the contents flying through the air in hopes of finding something.

She had no such luck.

Letting out a roar of frustration, she then hurried over to her Dad's office. _Maybe they were hiding the goods in there this year?_

But after having cleared out the old mahogany closet, the sideboard and even Carlisle's desk, she was even more frustrated than before.

Slamming the door shut which nearly took it off its hinges Alice stomped down to the basement.

They normally kept all the utensils for forging documents and other important things down there, so maybe she got lucky now and would find what she was looking for. They rarely spend time in the basement ... it was indeed a good hiding place.

She cursed under her breath when she realised that she wouldn't find anything in that part of the house either.

Stomping up the stairs again, her hair dishevelled, she was now headed for Rose and Emmett's room.

She was so caught up in her frenzy, that she didn't notice Carlisle entering the house, coming home from work.

He watched Alice shaking hear head, deep in thought, while mumbling some incoherent nonsense. She was ascending the stairs, pulling her hair in frustration and then vanished from his sight.

That was odd.

Carlisle dropped his bag by the door, quickly laid his wool coat on top of it, then hurried after his daughter.

He had never seen her like that before ... what was troubling her so?

"Alice?" he called when he reached the first landing, hoping she would answer and explain to him why she was so distressed.

But she didn't answer.

He walked on, determined to find her, when he passed his and Esme's bedroom.

The door was wide open and so he had no trouble detecting what had happened in there. If he wouldn't know any better, he would guess that they had been robbed.

The floor was littered with clothes and his wife's accessories among other things. The sideboards were missing drawers, because they had been carelessly thrown onto the bed or off to the side.

That caught him completely off-guard.

Gasping, he shook his head in disbelief, before backing out of this room.

He turned around, but then noticed that the door to his office looked slightly askew.

_Oh dear._

He immediately figured what must have happened here. A house with many doors and many teenage vampires practically asked for these doors to be slammed by said vampires.

Oh, how many doors he had needed to replace over the last decades ...

Opening the door carefully, he wasn't let down to learn that the upper hinge was broken and his study was looking like a battlefield. This room seemed to be competing with his bedroom when it came to looking like a mess.

He heard noises coming from down the hall, which woke him from his state of shock, so he called his daughter's name and left his study.

An explanation for this would be really helpful. He didn't want to blame it on Alice, because he had no idea who had vandalised these rooms.

But she was very likely to know.

And he was determined to find out what had happened here _right now_.

"Nothing ... _nothing_!" Alice exclaimed in disbelief and continued to pull the drawers from Rose's bedside table and turned them upside down, spilling the contents on the floor and the bed.

"Alice! What are you doing in here?" he questioned, his eyes held shock and confusion.

"No ... somewhere else." She distractedly scratched the side of her face, then turned and stormed towards the door where her father was standing.

"Alice, would you please answer me!" he demanded.

"I'm blind, Daddy!" she complained to him, then mumbled, "They must be hidden somewhere else."

She pushed past him and ran up the stairs leading to Edward's and Maddie's bedrooms.

* * *

><p><strong>What might happen next?<strong>

**I know, of course :D **

**REVIEW you guys!**


	47. Chapter 47

**Hellooooooooo readers! **

**Finally I get to see some snow! Seriously, I wait all year just for a little snow ... and now we are having a full-blown snowstorm :-)**

**Enjoy the next chapter, my dear readers! **

**There'll be one more about Christmas and then I might take a little break to concentrate on a different story. All right with you? **

* * *

><p>No, no, this would stop right now, Carlisle decided.<p>

He was not willing to watch Alice continue to play havoc with even more rooms in this house. And he couldn't imagine any good reason for her doing so in the first place.

So he hurried after her, taking three steps at a time until he reached the third floor.

Before his daughter could reach out and open the door to Edward's room, he seized her by the wrist and spun her around.

"Alice, it's enough! What do you think you are doinghere ?" he queried, his voice laced with indignation.

"I'm blind!" she exclaimed.

"What do you mean?"

"I cannot see _anything_, not even the tiniest glimpse!"

Carlisle waited for her to continue.

She looked distressed, confused even. "Nothing! They ruin Christmas, all of them! ... _they have to be somewhere_ ...," she babbled, then reached out for the door handle to Edward's room again.

Carlisle did not let go of her wrist, so she tried harder to pull herself free from his grip.

Not knowing what got into her, but determined to find out, Carlisle needed to get her attention first.

Alice was a tiny girl, so he had no trouble pulling at her wrist, bending her to the side and smacking her bottom several times.

She yelped at the sting that blossomed on her behind, and Carlisle let go of her now because she was looking at him with wide open eyes.

_Now_ they could talk.

Alice's hands shot back to rub the sting out, while she gaped at her Dad.

Truth be told, it had been forever since she had gotten spanked and she had never planned on finding herself in that position again. Her gift normally saved her from making bad decisions that could lead to trouble for her.

"Do I have your attention now?" he queried.

"Yes, Sir," Alice whispered, averting her eyes before suddenly looking him back in the eye. "Why did you spank me?" she asked and grimaced while still trying to rid her behind of the sting her Dad's hand had brought.

She was really asking why? "You were ignoring me. Besides, I saw you messing up your siblings' room and then you were heading for Edward's, so I assumed you wanted to repeat your actions."

"It's not my fault!" Alice replied indignantly.

Carlisle sighed.

"Come with me," he said and guided her down the stairs and into the living room.

Standing in the hallway was not how he planned on finding out why Alice had felt the need to make the house look like a dumpster.

She sighed when she let herself fall backwards onto the couch, while her father sat down in one of the armchairs.

Carlisle frowned. "What is upsetting you so, Alice? Never before have I seen you like this."

"I'm blind."

"Yes, you mentioned it before. Would you care to explain what that means, dear?"

"Maddie blocked my ability, I'm _blind,_" She clarified, a little annoyed that he was so slow on the uptake.

"But your mother told me you gave your consent. It that not true?" he asked, sounding concerned.

If Maddie had lied to Esme about that, he would need to have a word with her. Alice seemed so helpless and confused, and he couldn't find anything amusing about it. So if Maddie had done it without her sister's consent, then she would find herself in deep trouble with him.

Alice hung her head. "Well, it was Jasper's idea and Maddie had been reluctant to do it. I gave my consent and then let her block me ... but I cannot handle being ordinary!"

"Being ordinary? Honey, you visions will come back to you. They are still there, you just cannot see them. It just takes a few days," he tried to calm her.

"But then it will be too late! Why has nobody bought presents yet?" she growled in irritation and narrowed her eyes at her father.

"Excuse me?" He didn't like the tone she was taking with him, and he certainly didn't understand what she was talking about now.

"You are ruining Christmas! All of you!" Alice accused, gesturing wildly.

He was taken aback. "Alice, what are you talking about?"

"No presents! I looked _everywhere, but nothing whatsoever_!" She seemed to be beside herself.

"I want you to calm yourself. There is no need for yelling at me, I can hear you just fine," he admonished.

Seeing that she was upsetting her father, she quickly said, "I apologise." She didn't know why she was having these mood swings right now. And she wasn't someone who took it out on others.

"Am I right in assuming that you entered my study and mine and your mother's bedroom and rummaged through the closets and drawers?"

_And here we go ... time for a new mood swing!_

"Well, where else would you be keeping our Christmas presents?" she queried in a Duh!-kind-of voice.

He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, before focussing back on his daughter.

"You know better than to disrespect our privacy like that! What do you have to say for yourself?"

She suddenly jumped up, her hands clenched to fists at her sides. "You are at fault for not having taken care of the Christmas shopping yet!" she screamed at him.

"Alice ...," Carlisle warned. These outbursts were so unlike Alice, never had he seen her behave in such a way. She wasn't herself right now, but still, he wouldn't listen to her disrespect much longer. Alice was old enough to at least try and keep her temper in check.

"This is going to be the worst Christmas _ever_!" she whined while slumping back onto the couch and slamming her fist down on the cushion next to herself, which got her an admonishing look from her father.

"Believe me when I say that Christmas is going to be beautiful. And I don't want you to worry about any presents. I cannot believe you would go through our drawers like that, invading our privacy, causing disorder and not even seem to care!"

She was close to tears now. Maybe out of sadness, maybe out of anger - Carlisle wasn't sure.

It might a little of both.

"I wanted to make it special for Maddie, I had so much planned ... but now you are ruining it!" She pulled at her hair in frustration, just like before. Carlisle had to admit that she showed a vague resemblance to Rumpelstiltskin right then.

"Do you need a moment to calm yourself?" he asked while running his fingers through his hair. It seemed like Alice wasn't even listening to him and that way they wouldn't get very far.

She gazed up at him, wide-eyed, like she didn't understand why she would need to calm down. She hadn't done anything wrong, after all.

A different approach was in order, Carlisle decided.

"Follow me," he ordered and waited for Alice to stand up - to make sure she would comply.

Ascending the stairs, he then waited by the door to his and Esme's bedroom. Alice stopped right next to him.

"Look," Carlisle said and pointed inside. Maybe seeing this mess again would pull her out of her irritation.

She took in the sight that presented itself in front of her.

When a gasp escaped her lips, he knew that she was finally realising what she had done.

Alice hadn't really noticed in which state she had left the rooms. She had been so focussed on finding presents, that she never stopped to think what she was actually doing.

The bedroom was a mess, just like the study and Rose and Emmett's room, that Carlisle showed her as well.

She squirmed a little under his penetrating look and waited for him to speak.

"Can we go downstairs and talk about what happened here? Preferably calm and collected?" he queried.

"I- I'm so sorry, Daddy, please don't be mad at me," she tried meekly.

Alice felt bad about what she had done. Really bad.

How could something like this ever happen to her? She was neither a crazy person nor was she acting without thinking. But the chaos in these rooms was undoubtedly her work.

She descended the stairs with her father and sat down on the couch in the living room once more.

"I was upset about not seeing anything and then I just wanted to check to make sure everything was going according to plan even without my help."

"Then why did you ever give your consent for having your ability blocked?" It didn't make sense to him that Alice would willingly give up her gift, especially since she was so dependent on it.

She sighed. "For Jasper. I do understand why he asked this of me, and everybody else thought it would be a good idea, too, so I was willing to try it. But I had no idea what it would feel like!"

She covered her face with her hands and exclaimed, "It's driving me insane!"

"Maddie will be home soon. You could ask her to lift her influence over you."

"No ... I want to do this," she answered and looked up at him.

It was so tough for her. But Edward had done this a couple of times already and said it wasn't too bad. It helped you to relax, to let your mind wander from time to time, like dreaming, he said.

Alice liked the idea of dreaming - like humans did every night in their sleep. She didn't remember her human life, she craved these memories that she had obviously forgotten about. But now that her ability was really blocked, it didn't feel relaxing or pleasant - it was horrible. She was on edge and moody, the thought of not knowing what would happen next distressed her.

"Good. Then let us talk about you invading not only your mother and I's privacy, but Rose and Emmett's as well," he said strictly.

"I'm really sorry... I'll clean up! And I won't ever do it again." She was deeply embarrassed by what she had done and hoped that by cleaning up she could remedy her mistake.

"I'm glad you see the wrongs of your doings."

Alice nodded, hoping that was it.

"You are grounded for two weeks."

That was a shock.

And what might follow a shock? Yes, a mood swing.

"_What? !_ I'm already blind and now you want to torment me further by keeping me home all day? And even for _Christmas? !_" She was outraged.

"Alice, I am being very lenient with you right now," he told her calmly.

"That is _lenient_?"

"I am taking into account that you aren't yourself right now due to the loss of your ability. Your siblings would have gotten a sound hiding."

Alice looked at the floor and thought it over.

"Daddy?" she asked softly and lifted her head. "Please don't ground me. I'd rather take the punishment the others would get."

His eyes widened in surprise, before he said, "Alice, I wouldn't feel comfortable-"

"Don't treat me differently just because I am handicapped right now," she begged.

It wasn't just that Alice was missing her ability and therefore was committing a blunder, but also that she was usually well behaved. Alice never acted up - except for frequently maxing out her credit cards, but that wasn't too bad and otherwise she was a perfect little angel. So cleaning up and being grounded would be punishment enough for her, no need to adopt drastic measures.

"Don't let me suffer for two weeks, Daddy, please. I want to get it over with now." Alice wanted closure, she didn't want to be reminded of her horrible behaviour every day for two whole weeks! And why would he treat her any different than her siblings? She was just as much his child as the others were.

"Are you sure?" He had his qualms about spanking Alice now, but could understand her reasoning.

It was just so hard for him, because Alice seemed so fragile right now. Would she really be all right with it, or would it do serious harm to her? He wasn't sure how she would deal with a spanking in her current state of mind.

How would she react?

Well, Edward normally sulked a little afterwards, Emmett cracked jokes the moment it was over with and Maddie brushed it off after wanting some time to herself. But they always learned from it, that's why it was an effective punishment.

Could Alice be held accountable for her actions? He was upset that she had disrespected their privacy and made a mess of their rooms but it came down to her being overchallenged by the abstinence of her visions. A grounding might help her think about how to keep a cool head in situations like these.

"Yes. Can you do it now? I cannot see when the others will be back home," she whispered.

He took a deep breath, thinking about it once more, before saying, "Come here, Alice."

She gulped, but did as she was told and walked to his right side without hesitating once.

Carlisle helped her over his lap, then gave her back a little rub.

"Are you -"

"Yes, I am sure. You can begin, Dad."

He nodded his head in response, even though his daughter wouldn't see it. Then he placed his left hand on her waist to hold her in place and raised his right one high in the air.

The first smack made Alice yelp, but then she pressed her lips together tightly - not wanting for her Dad to feel bad about spanking her.

Carlisle felt awful, so he gave Alice about a dozen swats in quick succession, wanting it to be over with.

It was hard for Alice to keep the squirming to a minimum, but she did succeed.

When she felt herself being lifted up and seated on her father's knee, she immediately hugged him around the neck, glad that it was over with but confused about the briefness of her punishment.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?"

She pulled away, frowning. Her eyes held unshed venom tears, he noticed, but otherwise she seemed relaxed.

"You went easy on me," she stated and leaned against him again, letting her head rest in the crook of his neck.

"I gave you what I felt would be adequate," he explained, but in reality - he did go easy on her.

"Right ... just because I am small doesn't mean that I cannot handle the same the others do."

He patted her head while chuckling. "Oh ... you want some more?" he queried and made to bend her back over his lap.

"No wait! That's not what I said!" she hastily said. Her butt hurt, so she had been punished. No need to add more, right?

He hugged her again.

"I know you went easy on me, but it's okay, I forgive you." Sitting on her Dad's lap, being hugged by him was so comforting and it made her feel safe. She almost completely forgot about her insecurities that came with her temporarily lost gift.

Carlisle enjoyed spending some time with her without interruptions from his other children. With a family as big as theirs it was a little difficult sometimes.

When he had the feeling that Alice was completely calm and not hurting anymore, he suggested, "Why don't we go upstairs and clean up? I don't think your mother would be awfully impressed to find three rooms upside down."

That made Alice avert her eyes. It had been a little more than just three rooms ...

She nervously pulled on the hem of her shirt, while saying, "Uhm ... Dad? I have also been to the basement ..."

He caught his breath.

"Alice, dear, does it look like-"

"Yes," she answered before he could say any more. "I'm sorry ..."

He sighed and stroked her messy hair. "Still, we should get started upstairs, don't you think?"

She nodded. "But you don't have to help me, I made the mess so I'll clean it up again."

"It'll be much quicker that way, sweetheart. And I am not sure if you know where everything belongs."

"True," she admitted.

* * *

><p>It took them some time to tidy up.<p>

Carlisle took care of his office himself, while Alice busied herself in her parent's bedroom and, of course, Rose and Emmett's.

But they made it in time before the rest of the family came back home about an hour later.

They were carrying so many bags and boxes that Carlisle thought they must have rented a truck to bring it all home.

Maddie immediately ran to her room, to hide the stuff she bought. She would wrap it up later, but firstly she needed to get it away from the rest of the family. She didn't want the surprises spoilt, after all.

They had split up to get the shopping done.

At first, Maddie went with Jasper and Esme, then with Rose and then with Edward and Emmett. It had been fun, even though the mall had been beyond busy. It had taken them forever to find a parking space and then they had to stand in queue to pay for the presents they had chosen. But Emmett and Edward let Maddie compel people so they could skip waiting in line. Hey, they didn't have all day, okay?

Hiding the presents in her closet, Maddie then made to walk back downstairs to greet her Dad when she heard Rose call for her.

So she skipped down the stairs and stopped in front of Rose and Emmett's room. Unfortunately Rosalie did not look happy.

"Have you been to this room?" She asked and pointed into her room.

Maddie knitted her brows. "When?"

"Just now."

"Nope," Maddie replied, shaking her head no.

"Someone has been going through my drawers," Rosalie stated matter-of-factly. She had wanted to hide a present in one of her drawers, but found that her stuff was completely disorganised.

"Oh thanks, so you immediately assume I did it." Maddie pouted and crossed her arms while leaning against the doorframe.

Rose sighed. "No, no. You know you are allowed in here and borrow my things, but I expect you to put everything back where it belongs."

"But I haven't been in there, I just went to my room."

"Maybe Emmett ...," Rose mused.

"I can explain," Alice said nervously.

They turned around and looked at her.

"Uhm ... I don't exactly know where to start ... but I went through your rooms."

"Why would you do that, Alice?" Esme queried. She was walking up the stairs with her husband, who carried several shopping bags for her. He had already briefed her a little of what he had witnessed after he had arrived back home from work.

"I'm not myself without my ability," she answered meekly. That was the only explanation Alice could come up with.

Now Edward and Emmett joined them, too.

"Did you wreck my room?" Maddie queried. She hadn't noticed anything out of order up there, but she hadn't checked her drawers yet.

"Your room, as well as Edward's room, is fine," Carlisle answered for Alice.

That made Maddie smile and she and Edward high-fived. Yup, he was way cooler without his gift - much more relaxed and even kind of fun to hang out with, actually.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? I couldn't blow my chance of getting Alice in trouble!<strong>

**But then I had some qualms and felt bad for her :-( Oh well ...**

**I'm not sure if this chapter turned out the way I wanted it to, but the next one might be better again!**

**REVIEW! **


	48. Chapter 48

**HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!**

**I know it's a little weird that I am still posting Christmas chapters, but ... just read them again next Christmas, then it'll fit ;-) **

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><p>"Get ready everyone, we need to leave!" Esme called and waited for her children to finally show up in the kitchen.<p>

They needed to get going, the drive to Fairholm would take at least twenty minutes.

To Maddie's sorrow, her whole family wanted to attend the Christmas party her school was holding.

It was exciting to them, since it was a different grade than what they have been in for quite some time now, over and over again.

Plus, there was a long show planned with music, plays and the like.

Maddie had eventually told them she wouldn't participate in being onstage singing - that had curbed their excitement a little. Esme had sounded a tad disappointed but she told Maddie that it was her choice. If she didn't want to do something, she wouldn't have to.

Yeah, Maddie would keep that in mind, definitely.

Emmett told her he wanted to bring his camcorder and record everything ... well, he would one way or the other, no matter if she sang or sold something in a heavily decorated booth, wearing a Santa hat.

"Are we complete?" Carlisle asked and scanned the room to check if all his children had finally made it to the kitchen.

"Okay ... where is Maddie?" Emmett asked after a second.

"I'll go get her," Rosalie said, handed her husband her purse and left the room.

It took only a minute until the two of them walked into kitchen, Maddie was pouting a little.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Esme asked with concern in her voice and hurried over to her.

"It is so ridiculous that we have to wear the uniforms for that evening. You have seen them already, where's the point?" she complained.

"Oh darling, that is bothering you? All the other students will also wear one, so you will not stand out."

"Why do you all wanna come?" Maddie whispered into her mother's ear, looking at her siblings.

"Because it's going to be beautiful. Your siblings are all so very curious, sweetie."

"Then let's go!" Carlisle exclaimed with a clap of his hands. He didn't want to be late, because Maddie had to work at the booth and set things up, while they wanted to find good seats for the show.

Grabbing his car keys, which had been lying on the counter, he then motioned to his wife and children to enter the garage.

Rose, Emmett and Maddie would be driving with him and Esme, while Edward, Alice and Jasper would take the Volvo.

They met again some time later, parking in a street near Maddie's school.

It was very busy - all parents and other relatives had been invited to participate in this charity event. Maddie didn't really get why this school would do something like that - it was an expensive school and they could just take some of the fees and donate them, right? But instead the parents were expected to pay even more.

Esme accompanied her youngest to the stand where she would be working for the evening while the rest of the family would go find seven seats in the big assembly hall.

Maddie rolled her eyes when she saw with whom she would be working with.

_What a funny coincidence._

The bitchy girl she had thought to be downright ridiculous since her first day here was already there arranging bags of cookies to sell.

_Oh, joy!_

A blond lady Maddie didn't know was standing next to her, telling her how to do this and that - it was laughable. This lady seemed snobby and arrogant and like everything Maddie disliked.

Her guess - it was the girl's mother.

It must be, they wore the same stuck up expression on their faces, had the same pale blue eyes ... the only difference was that the woman was wearing a white Chanel suit and way too much perfume. And too much make-up.

"Hey Maddie, you're late. Were you having dinner?" the girl asked in a fake sweet voice.

"How was History, Val?" Maddie countered with a rapt smile and walked around the table to stand next to her classmate.

"You two are friends, Valérie? How sweet." So she was indeed her mother, Mrs. Montgomery. When she talked, she sounded a little as if she was having peas up her nose that just wouldn't come out again.

"Of course, Maman. My friend Madeline Cullen," Valerie introduced her.

_Friend? _My ass.

Maddie could have cracked up with laughter then. This girl already ran around the school like she owned the place, usually with two sidekicks in tow, and now she wanted to pretend to be popular beyond belief in front of her Mom?

Well, then so be it.

"I am overjoyed to meet you, Ma'am," Maddie said and curtseyed.

Maybe the curtsey was a bit overdone, but the lady looked impressed with Maddie's manners and even Esme smiled.

Ha.

"I didn't know we would be working together today! That is ... like ... so _awesome_!" Maddie then exclaimed while looking at Valerie again, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Why haven't you invited your friend over yet, Valérie?" Oh, the mother again.

"Maddie doesn't live in town, Maman. They don't have any good schools where she comes from." This girl was seriously trying to provoke her in front of their Moms ... but unfortunately chose the wrong subject. Maddie didn't give a damn about schools.

"Oh, I understand." Her Mom - pardon, her _Maman_ - said and turned to her side then, noticing Esme standing right next to the table.

"I am so sorry, Mrs. Montgomery, how rude of me. This is my mother Esme Cullen. Mom, this is my friend Valerie's mother, Mrs. Montgomery," Maddie introduced them. Oh, she was so curious what her Mom would think of these snobs.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Montgomery."

They shook hands and smiled.

"It's so sad we haven't met before, Mrs. Cullen."

"Indeed. Will you be watching the show? It is about to start. I just wanted to accompany Maddie to the stand before finding the assembly hall."

"Yes, of course," she replied, then turned to her daughter and Maddie, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at them. "You won't sell anything if you don't put on a smile, girls."

Gah.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Montgomery. Enjoy the show," Maddie smiled sweetly, then looked at her mother. "Have fun, Mom!"

"I'll see you when the show is over, sweetie," Esme answered and walked in the direction of the assembly hall with the weird lady.

Valerie wished her mother and Esme a pleasant evening, then went back to work.

When both mothers had rounded a corner and were out of sight, Maddie turned to face Valerie, a pitying expression on her face. "Seriously Val, _bulimic_? That's low, even for you."

"Aw ... were your parents concerned and want to send you to therapy now?" the girl asked with a sneer.

"No, they laughed about the silly girl that would say I puked all over the school," Maddie countered, before exclaiming happily, "then we left early and went shopping!"

The girl's face fell. "Bitch."

"Fuck you," Maddie replied, then left the stand again to go wash her hands before selling food. Yes, vampires knew of hygiene, too.

"We are supposed to wear these hats," Valerie snapped at Maddie, who had just come back from the restrooms, and held a Santa hat out for Maddie to take.

"Awesome," Maddie replied and put it on. How classy to wear that along with a school uniform... But it would distract from the checkered skirt, she figured, so she was cool with it.

* * *

><p>During the break, the girls had been really busy selling cookies.<p>

What, were these rich people incapable of baking? ... or maybe they bought so much because it was for a good cause, who knew.

Her family had come by once, but Maddie didn't have time to talk to them. Besides, there were so many other stands, that they probably wanted to take a look around anyway.

After maybe forty minutes, the guests were back in the assembly hall for the second half of the show and it got calmer in the hallways.

They cleaned up a little, put the remaining bags of cookies out on the table and counted the money they just earned, trying to ignore each other as best they could.

"Valerie?" A teacher approached their stand, coming to a halt right in front of it. "Our stage appearance is next, so please be behind the stage with your classmates in about five minutes."

It was their English teacher, Mrs. Lader. She pushed her gold-rimmed glasses back up and looked a little stressed. She always wore her greying hair in a bun, but today it was open and very frizzy. It resembled a bird's nest - she had probably fiddled with it a lot out of nervousness today.

"Yes, Mrs. Lader," Valerie replied, smiling.

"And Madeline? You, too, please."

"Excuse me?" Maddie asked in disbelief. "I'm supposed to be watching the stand, I'm not singing."

Her teacher took on a pained expression. "I know, and I am really sorry that I couldn't tell you before, but Kaitlin Sinclair is sick and won't be able to participate."

"It's just a song, Mrs. Lader, I'm sure one voice less won't be noticed," Maddie replied casually with a wave of her hand.

"You have been to all the rehearsals, Madeline. You know the song and the choreography. We need an even number on stage."

"My family is out there, I'm not performing on stage. Nuh-uh, no way," Maddie argued, holding her hand up.

She wasn't nervous about being on stage, she just had no desire to do it. Simple as that.

"They'd be happy to hear you sing," Maddie's teacher tried to encourage her.

"I don't think so." Well, they probably would, but whatever.

The teacher bent forward a little to be at eye level with Maddie, who sat on a chair behind the table with cookies. "Madeline, we need an even number. You knew that if someone wouldn't be able to participate, then you would have to fill in."

"You don't understand ... my brother will be teasing me for all eternity!"

"All eternity? You are exaggerating, dear. Besides, it is a beautiful song. Now get ready," Mrs. Lader said and straightened up again.

Nope, no exaggerating here.

Maddie stood up and motioned towards the table in front of her. "But ... who will be watching this here then? I cannot leave. And ... _Oh my!_ All the money for charity! What if it got stolen? I could never forgive myself."

"Mr. Benson will be watching it. Everything is arranged, don't worry," the teacher answered and walked away, but called over her shoulder, "Five minutes, girls!"

Maddie slumped into her chair, groaning, and let her forehead rest on the table.

"Aw, is somebody having stage fright?" Valerie asked her, her voice laced with mock sympathy.

_Oh, that girl should have just kept her stupid mouth shut._

Maddie lifted her head to face Valerie and answered with a wicked smile on her lips, "No."

Valerie frowned, not knowing what was going on.

Maddie cleared her throat then bent towards her so she would be looking her straight in the eye. "Go to the restrooms, but walk along the walls over there. Make sure you step into the chewing gum."

Some child must have dropped his pink bubble gum on the floor, and it was just so incredibly convenient right now.

Valerie stared right back at Maddie, then blinked her eyes before leaving the stand to walk along the walls to the restrooms, like Maddie just told her to.

She was getting better and better with this compelling thing. To be honest, what Maddie had just planned really was a very silly thing to do, but she so did not care right now.

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw her classmate reappear from the restroom.

Valerie waved at Maddie in annoyance, because she was still sitting on her ass on the chair despite the fact that they should be heading for the stage now.

"Mr. Benson? We'll be right back ... would you keep an eye on the table, please?" Maddie asked.

"Yes, go along with Valerie, you do not want to be late," he replied and took Maddie's place.

Hurrying over to Valerie, Maddie did her best to shield the girl from their teacher's view. This guy could ruin everything in a matter of seconds, after all.

"Trip a little when you leave the stage," Maddie ordered in a whisper while lightly pressing two fingers to the palm of Valerie's hand. They were already walking down the hallway, so it would have been a little difficult to do this without touch.

It was kind of dark behind the stage when they arrived, but that was fine. Each of the girls got a lit candle and then they were sent out onto the stage to perform in front of parents, siblings, relatives and the rest of the school's staff and students.

Maddie quickly scanned the audience for her family, then grinned and waved at them. She could hear Alice and Esme gasp when their eyes fell on Maddie, and Emmett cheered. She had told them she wouldn't perform today, so this came as a surprise now.

Emmett's hands with his camcorder in it immediately shot up, ready to film.

The girls formed three lines ... and then whispering and giggling could be heard coming from the audience.

Oops, so the people have noticed something...

Ha ha, Maddie thought.

She could have laughed along with them, but that wouldn't be very professional, now would it?

They sang the song, taking steps to the left or the right, turning around, and in the end they blew out the candles and the light went back on. The audience applauded like it was expected of them ... and whispered again.

Maddie could see her parents beam at her - they had obviously enjoyed the show.

When they were supposed to leave the stage again, Valerie - being in the first row in front of Maddie - stumbled a little and Maddie reached out to steady her.

"Careful there," she said and frowned at the sudden clumsiness of the girl.

Okay, it wasn't very honest of Maddie, but _come on!_ ... her brother had been filming everything!

Valerie suddenly gasped and dear Mrs. Montgomery looked terribly ashamed.

Maddie smiled.

_Being on stage had really been fun!_

Why had she ever declined to do this?

* * *

><p>"What a great show!" Emmett exclaimed while waiting next to the stand for Maddie to finish packing up. They would meet the rest of the family outside and then drive back home for a peaceful night in front of the TV.<p>

"You said so before." Maddie laughed and locked the cash box. They had made quite some money this evening - nearly all of the cookies in the little cellophane bags had been sold.

"I have it all on tape, we can watch it over and over and over and over again now!"

"Uhm ... sure ...," Maddie replied, then said to someone standing behind her brother, "Hey, Valerie? I'll take the box to the office."

Emmett turned around to see whom she was talking to.

His eyes went wide. "You are the one with the toilet paper stuck to her shoe!" Emmett burst out, which made Maddie quickly cover her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh.

The blonde, bitchy girl glowered at him, forcefully threw her Santa hat onto the table and stalked away before glaring at Emmett once more.

"Huh?" Emmett blinked his eyes at that display. _Why wasn't that girl laughing along?_

Maddie couldn't hold it in any longer and suddenly snorted with laughter. "It's okay, Em, let's go."

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked with furrowed brows.

That was funny about Emmett. Because he could laugh about himself, he assumed that everyone would be like that, too. Sometimes he really had no clue what 'embarrassment' meant.

Maddie giggled. "I think she's a little embarrassed, don't worry."

"But that was so funny!"

"Haha, I know!" Maddie snickered.

They went to the office together, gave the cash box to one of the teachers and then left the school.

It was dark and cold outside, and Maddie hoped it would be snowing soon. Unfortunately it didn't smell of snow yet.

When they turned into the street where their cars were parked, Alice squealed.

"I thought you wouldn't be on stage! You lied!" she said in a fake admonishing tone. Then she bounced over to Maddie, hugged her and said, "That was great, I didn't even know you could sing!"

She stared at her. "You could hear me?" Maddie had tried to be really, really quiet while singing.

"Maddie, don't be daft," Emmett playfully nudged his baby sister with the elbow.

Yeah, fine, they had the best hearing and therefore could single out voices, of course. Blah.

"Good job," Jasper praised and ruffled Maddie's hair, then took a step back and put his arm around Alice.

Wow, they had gone pretty long without fighting, Maddie noticed. That was truly interesting.

"We'll see you at home." Alice smiled and left with her husband to join Edward in his car.

Emmett and Maddie got into their Dad's car then, because Rose, Carlisle and Esme were already seated and buckled up.

"Sweetheart, that was a beautiful night," Esme said lovingly from the passenger's seat. "I am glad you thought it over and participated."

"Me, too." Maddie grinned and fastened her seatbelt.

"What made you change your mind?" Carlisle asked curiously.

Maddie sighed. "A girl got sick and they needed an even number so the choreography wouldn't look _stupid_," she explained but cracked up at the last word, because it sure as hell had still looked stupid. "That's why I had to fill in."

"You did well, it did not look stupid," Rosalie remarked, but Maddie wasn't sure if she could believe her words.

"And I have it all on tape." Emmett grinned, proud of himself. "That girl was _hilarious_! You have to watch her expression after she tripped and noticed that she had toilet paper on her shoe. Her face is priceless, let me tell you! And then she couldn't get it off!" His laugh boomed throughout the car.

"Emmett, stop laughing about a school girl, that isn't very nice," Esme rebuked mildly.

Maddie looked up at Rose to see what she thought of it. Judging by the smirk on her lips, she totally agreed with her husband.

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><p><strong>Maybe, maybe, <em>maybe<em> I manage to update again tomorrow ... but I can't promise anything!**

**REVIEW! **


	49. Chapter 49

**Hi!**

**Sorry it took me so long to update, but every time I looked at it I added stuff ... and now it's as long as two chapters and maybe a bit blah. *g* **

**Aaand this is the last chapter for a while ... don't worry, I still have enough ideas for it, just taking a little break to write and post other stuff!**

**For example: My new story! It's called 'A prank gone wrong'! First chapter is up, second one will follow soon. If you haven't read it yet - please do so!**

**patz13: Change of plans! :D**

**Jamie: I haven't forgotten about the wishes! I'll start writing soon, promise!**

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><p>And then it was finally Christmas Eve.<p>

When Maddie came down the stairs late in the morning, she was greeted with a heavily decorated living room. It looked so pretty that she needed a moment to remember how to close her mouth again.

"Wow...," she breathed.

Fir garlands, red and golden Christmas decoration everywhere - candles adorned the mantelpiece and every other surface while a big, beautiful centerpiece had been placed on the table.

"Do you like it, honey?" Esme asked with a smile on her face and approached Maddie.

"It looks amazing, Mom." Maddie couldn't stop gaping around. She hadn't known they would put up decorations ... well, okay, they had a pretty wreath hanging on the door, but she had figured that would be all. Well, and a tree, of course.

Esme patted her on the head and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek, then said, "We'll bring the tree in in a couple of hours. Will you help decorating it?"

"Sure. It's tradition, isn't it?"

Esme nodded and gave Maddie a smile. "Yes, it is."

Alice just came in from the garage, holding a box filled with even more decoration.

"Doesn't it look _perfect_, Maddie?" She beamed at her sister. Alice definitely was a perfectionist, and this year she had planned on making the holidays as memorable as possible for everyone. It was the first time they would be celebrating Christmas together, so it was very special.

"I love it," Maddie replied and her eyes gleamed.

Alice put the box down, grabbed Maddie by the hand and pulled her further into the living room, to show her some more.

"When did you do all this?" She had been downstairs about half an hour ago, but it certainly hadn't looked like this then.

"We started ten minutes ago." Alice shrugged and enjoyed seeing her sister so happy.

But then Maddie frowned.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Esme asked, a little concern in her voice.

Maddie quickly smiled to ease the tension. She wasn't upset, sad or anything the like, but all the decoration had distracted her from the reason why she had come downstairs in the first place. "Uhm ... we bought some wrapping paper, didn't we? I have a bunch of stuff in my room that needs wrapping."

Esme sighed in relief. "Rosalie took it a moment ago. You either ask her to give you some now or you wait until she is finished."

"Oh, I'll wait," Maddie said casually and slumped down onto the couch.

_Woah!_ Even the pillow slips were of a golden colour now.

"... can't even stay in my own room ...," Emmett grumbled while coming down the stairs.

"Whazzup?" Maddie asked and turned around to look at him.

He raised his head and stopped dead in his tracks.

Looking around the room, he then whistled.

"Somebody had been busy already," he said. "This room looks marvellous!"

"I know, right?" Alice grinned.

"Why were you grumbling just now?" Maddie asked.

"Rose kicked me out, said I was too nosy. But I'll see the presents tomorrow anyways, so where is the problem if I take a peek at them now?"

They laughed at Emmett's logic.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Maddie offered and pointed at the TV.

"Sure. Which one?" he said and sat down on the floor, leaning against the couch.

Maddie jumped up and walked over to the sideboard, scanning through the DVDs.

"Bad Santa?" she asked with a big grin.

Esme tzked. "Sweetie, not for Christmas, all right? I don't want to hear that vile language today."

"But it's a Christmas movie," Maddie told her her Mom.

"How about Die Hard?" Emmett suggested.

"Emmett," Esme mildly rebuked.

"What else should we be watching, Mom?" Maddie asked. They were both Christmas movies, how could she not be okay with either of them?

Esme walked towards Maddie and stopped right next to her, looking through the collection.

"This one is perfect," she smiled and handed her daughter a DVD.

Maddie's face fell.

"... The Care Bears Movie?" She asked in disbelief.

Esme smiled at her. "I thought you might like it."

Oh God, she was serious.

"Yeah, thanks. But ..._ oh, what a bummer!_ It's not a Christmas movie," Maddie uttered, faking her disappointment.

"Oh, you are right. Sorry, love," she replied and looked for a different one.

"Here you go," she said lovingly and held up a movie.

Emmett gave her a thumbs up, Maddie giggled and they settled for it. It was Disney, and it was Christmassy and it was cute. Well, they would have loved to watch something different, but somehow it made their Mom happy whenever they watched kid's movies. And what better time to make your Mom happy than Christmas?

Alice and Esme continued to adorn the room. It was a very classy decoration, everything in gold and red. It looked a little like the Christmas decoration in a very expensive hotel, but it matched their house's interior perfectly.

"You haven't used up all the gift wrap, have you?" Maddie asked when she sensed someone behind her and looked up to see that it was Rose.

"No. We still have a little. I just gave it to Edward," she replied and seated herself on the armrest of the couch.

"Oh. I need some, too."

"Call Dad and tell him to get some more on his way home from the hospital." Emmett suggested.

"But then it'll take even longer until he's home and we cannot start decorating the Christmas tree until he's here," Maddie tried to reason with her brother.

"All right," Emmett said and stretched out. "Grab your jacket and we'll drive to the store."

"Really?" Maddie asked, sounding happy.

"Sure, get ready."

"Wear a knit hat and gloves, it's cold outside!" Rosalie called after her.

Maddie could feel that this was going to be a great Christmas.

Everybody was relaxed and happy - they were apparently turning into a picture-perfect family.

Yes, Alice had had a little nervous breakdown two days ago, but she pledged she was fine now. Still, Maddie had offered to help her with that problem, but she had declined.

When Emmett and Maddie came home from the store, the house looked even more - for lack of a better word - _perfect_. Maybe Alice was still a little disturbed, because she was constantly trying to outdo herself today.

On the table in the dining room was a big nativity scene set up, and it was plain beautiful. Emmett told her that they had it for ages already and they set it up every year; they would never celebrate Christmas without it. Carlisle got it when he spent a few years in Italy, and it was tradition to set it out.

That was a nice tradition.

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Maddie asked Alice when they looked around the kitchen and saw that is was heavily decorated as well.

Why? She had no clue. It wasn't like they actually used the kitchen ... it was more like a corridor to them.

"I ordered via the Internet, of course," Alice answered, laughing a little at Maddie's silly question. "You don't get Christmas decoration of that quality just round the corner."

"It looks pretty."

Alice gaped at her._ Just pretty?_ "This is a carved Christmas pyramid from the Ore Mountains and real beeswax candles. Humans are quite skillful. The tablecloth over there is made of finest Egyptian cotton."

"Okay. And where are the candy canes and ... little snowmen and Santa Claus?" Maddie wasn't sure what to ask for, because there was decoration everywhere and it looked so classy and expensive like she had never seen before. It was a little different from what she was used to.

Alice's face hardened. She had tried so hard to make everything look perfect ... and now her baby sister was asking for plastic decoration?

"Here you go, it's a nutcracker," she said without enthusiasm while shoving a carved nutcracker into her sister's hands.

"Alice...," Maddie whined, "don't be mad at me. I have no idea how you celebrate Christmas, you know."

Alice pondered over this before giving in. "It's okay, I'll be briefing you now. And don't expect any plastic, just don't."

Before showing Maddie around, she called over her shoulder: "Emmett? Jasper? Why don't you go get the Christmas tree? I already brought the fairy lights and Christmas balls to the living room."

"Let me guess ... they aren't from the shop around the corner either?" Maddie asked, a little more careful this time.

Alice smiled approvingly. "Very good. Finest Thuringian glass, mouth-blown and ... "

* * *

><p>"Ouch!" Maddie exclaimed and rubbed the back of her hand.<p>

"I told you to stay away from the curtains," Esme admonished with her arms akimbo.

Not even a second passed since Maddie had gotten a rap across the knuckles from her Mom because she wanted to take a peek. The curtains in the dining room were drawn, and she did not know why.

"We never draw the curtains, what's wrong?"

"Don't concern yourself with that, now go get changed," Esme said.

"I am fine just the way I am," Maddie replied conceitedly. She was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt with old blood stains on it that Esme hadn't managed to wash out. Yes, after going to the store Maddie had decided to change into something more comfy, since she wouldn't leave the house anymore for the rest of the day.

She sighed. "Maddie, it is Christmas and I want you to dress accordingly."

"We'll be staying home and I wanna be comfortable," Maddie whined in response.

"I'll help you!" Alice exclaimed and tugged at her sister's sleeve.

She had already chosen a nice dress for Maddie. It was dark green, and had a black silk ribbon around the waist. A bow was right over her left hip. The outfit would be perfect with black tights and black flats, of course. And - if Maddie let her - a black hairband with a bow. Just perfect.

"Mom!" she complained when Alice wouldn't let go.

Esme looked at her. "Please, Maddie."

So she got changed, because the dress was kind of pretty and that way she could show her face downstairs again. Esme seemed a little stressed, even though Maddie did not know why.

"Maddie ...," Esme said in a warning tone when Maddie neared herself to the drawn curtains once more.

She spun around on her heel and let her hands fall to her sides. "What's out there, Mom? Just tell me!"

"No. And now do as I say and leave the curtains alone."

"But I'm curious."

"Curious about what will happen if you don't step away from the curtains?" Esme asked in a no-nonsense kind of voice.

Maddie took a step backwards and sulked.

Esme sighed, not wanting for anyone to be sad today. "Go watch a movie with Emmett, wouldn't you like that?"

And just as simple as that, Maddie's attention had been diverted.

"Okay!" she exclaimed and all but bounced into the living room.

Emmett had obviously changed as well, because he was wearing a suit and a button down shirt, very classy.

So everyone would dress up today, all right.

"A movie, Em?" Maddie asked and raised her eyebrows.

"Pretty dress, Tiny," he remarked. "What do you wanna watch now? The movie Mom bought for you?" he asked and smirked.

Maddie snorted.

"I'll save that one for a sunny day," she replied.

Funny enough, for them everything was the other way round. People stayed home on rainy days, and went outside to enjoy the weather when the sun was out. Did not happen in this family.

Grabbing a different movie from the pile lying next to the TV, Maddie put it into the DVD player and turned around, holding the cover up for her brother to see.

"That one all right with you?" she asked, even though she maybe should have asked before putting it in.

"Sure, come," he replied, lifting his right arm and waiting for his little sister to sit down right next to him so he could let his arm rest on her shoulders.

It was cool that their siblings joined them as well and together they could enjoy a nice Christmas movie while waiting for their Dad to come home from work.

* * *

><p>After watching the movie, Maddie spent some time in her room, wrapping up the presents she had gotten for her family. She wanted them to look pretty, so she tried extra hard.<p>

A smile spread across her face when she saw the headlights of a car approaching - her Dad's car.

So he was finally coming home!

She quickly wrapped up the last of her presents, then opened her door and hurried down the stairs.

But she frowned when she noticed the door to her Dad's study being wide open, and him sitting on the leather chair behind his desk, writing.

She peeked in.

"Come here, honey." He looked up and smiled, then put the pen down and scooted backwards with his chair.

She walked in and sat down on his lap, looking at the paper lying on the desk.

When he picked up his pen and started writing again, she murmured, "You said you wouldn't be working."

He held up one finger to indicate that she should wait a moment, then he finished the sentence he had started and finally put the pen down.

"All done," he told her, "no more work."

She suddenly was all smiles, and her eyes shone with delight. "So we'll be decorating the tree now? Right now? Alice said she got special Christmas balls and stuff."

He laughed and lightly tapped her nose with his finger. "Yes, we'll be decorating the tree now."

She beamed up at him, then jumped off his lap, grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room.

"What's outside, Daddy? Mom wouldn't let me look."

"Then maybe you should be patient and wait until you find out, hm?" he replied while he was being dragged down the stairs by his daughter.

"It's a surprise?" Maddie looked over her shoulder at him.

"Yes, it is."

"Is it something fun?" she asked, barely able to contain her curiosity.

"Well, I do hope so."

"Something special?"

He laughed. "Maddie, you'll find out. Be patient."

So Maddie nodded her head, indicating she understood that he didn't want her to ask any more questions about what was outside.

She suddenly stopped. "Your clothes smell like snow."

"I think it's about to snow, yes."

Christmas was getting better and better.

It was so festive in the living room. The tree stood near the fireplace, and Jasper and Emmett had already put the lights into the tree, so they only had to decorate it now.

* * *

><p>On the stroke of midnight Alice exclaimed, "I think it's time for presents!"<p>

Everything was perfect, just like she had planned. And she had managed all that without the help of her gift, quite impressing.

The family had spent the last hours listening to Edward play the piano, watching another Christmas movie and putting tons of presents underneath the tree.

Well, they had actually wanted to open their presents earlier, but Esme had eyed the clock strangely and said it wasn't the right time.

And while they had been busy listening to Edward play, Alice typed several messages on her phone. Since that was strange, Maddie asked whom she was sending them to, and Alice answered it was Jasper. Now that really didn't make any sense, because Jasper was just upstairs collecting gifts to put next to the tree.

Alice replied she was too lazy to walk up the stairs and talk to him, so she used her phone instead.

Okay ... weird.

"Yes, it is the right time," Esme confirmed and they all sat down on either the couches or the armchairs in the living room.

"What's outside, Mom?" Maddie whispered immediately, her eyes wide and curious.

She was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, and had her elbows on the coffee table while her parents were seated on the couch. They looked relaxed, happy.

"You'll find out now." Esme chuckled, then stood up and walked over to the curtains. "All right, look over here, everybody. Your father and I decided that this might be something nice for all of you."

She opened the curtains and their eyes went wide.

Maddie squealed while Emmett cheered and both ran over to the glass doors that opened up to the porch. "You got us a trampoline? Oh my God!"

Rose, Jasper and Alice were surprised, too, and they liked the gift; but they were by no means as excited as these two.

"Awesome!" Emmett exclaimed and he and Maddie high-fived.

"Can we try it out now?" Maddie asked - she was fascinated by the thing that looked like so much fun. She couldn't wait to try it out!

Esme patted Maddie on the head, then said, "You can go outside later. We'll be celebrating first, all right?"

Maddie looked whiny.

"Open a present, sweetie," she said, turned her daughter around by the shoulders and nudged her in the direction of the tree.

Rose offered a little box for Maddie to take. "Here."

So she skipped over to her sister and thanked her while taking the box from her.

"Oh Rose! That's really pretty!" Maddie exclaimed and took the silver bracelet out of the little red case.

"Do you like it?"

"Of course I do! Thank you!" Maddie flung her arms around Rose's neck.

Maddie wasn't into jewellery, but this was a simple bracelet - exactly her taste.

"We can add charms, see?" Rosalie told her while clasping it round her wrist.

Maddie was busy smiling to herself, but then hurried over to the tree and got a present for Emmett when Alice gave Rose something little wrapped up in fancy golden-coloured paper.

"Here," Maddie said and held it in front of her brother's face. When he grabbed it she put her hands behind her back, swaying a little in anticipation, a big grin on her face.

He immediately started laughing when he saw what his little sister had gotten for him. "_Where's Waldo?_"

She doubled up with laughter.

"I don't think I'll be able to find him!" He slapped a hand to his forehead.

"I know! It always seems to take forever until you find that little f-"

"Maddie!"

"What?" Maddie put her hands on her hips while looking at Rose. "_Fella_, I wanted to say _fella_!"

"Right," Rosalie answered, not believing her little sister a single word but still sounding amused. She gave her a light pat on the bum while passing her.

"Come here, I have something for you," Edward suddenly said, motioned for Maddie to come closer and picked a gift up from the floor. It was wrapped in a dark blue paper, with little golden stars all over it and a big red bow on top.

Yay!

Maddie smiled and skipped over to him, taking it from her brother, then sat on the floor and ripped it open.

"Headphones?" She asked confusedly, but then giggled. "My music isn't that bad, you know."

"Oh, they aren't for that, even though you should indeed rethink your taste in music," he replied. "It is for _that_."

Maddie looked at the huge wrapped box standing next to the Christmas tree to which Edward was pointing.

"That's for me?" she asked with a frown.

"Sure, open up," he pulled it over to her and then put it in her lap.

Maddie bit her lip to keep herself from smirking, then opened the present.

Now that was definitely a surprise.

Gasping, she then looked questioningly up at her brother.

She started stammering. "I-I don't ..."

He interrupted her. "Yes, you do. I know you can play."

"But I ..."

"That's what the headphones are for," he said and pointed at them. "No-one will hear if you wish so, you can keep it private."

Maybe she should be mad at him for snooping around in her head. But the fact that Maddie had played the piano when she was human probably excited him, because he was clearly obsessed with music and it was always nice to share that passion with someone.

She eyed the keyboard lying in her lap once more, contemplating on what to do.

Absentmindedly she breathed "Thank you.", in an attempt to end this awkward situation.

"It's from Mom and Dad. This here," he told her while picking up a flat present, "is from me."

He handed it to her and waited for her to unwrap it.

She took her time, because she didn't feel too euphoric anymore but weirdly numb instead.

And then she saw it.

It was sheet music, of course.

That wasn't too disturbing, but the moment she read the name of the composer, a tidal wave of memories washed over her. These old memories hadn't been forgotten, but she just hadn't reminisced about then in a while.

She traced the letters with her fingertips, completely mesmerised. It was the exact same piano sheet music her father had always played. He had loved Chopin dearly, and Maddie could still hear the beautiful melodies and the heavy melancholy when she remembered him playing.

Right now she didn't even breathe, just stared at the present she had gotten from her brother.

"Maddie? Maddie sweetheart?"

When a hand stroked her hair, she looked up in surprise, like she had completely forgotten where she was at that moment.

"Are you all right, dear?" Esme asked with concern in her voice. It had been a little unsettling to see her daughter suddenly change from lively to impassive.

"Yeah," Maddie muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. "Yeah," she said again, but louder this time, "I am." The tiny smile that played on her lips made Esme sigh with relief.

Esme stroked Maddie's cheek lovingly, before sitting back down on the couch next to Carlisle, who put an arm around her shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, Maddie then looked up at Edward, mouthing a 'Thank you'.

"Come here," he said and lifted one arm, inviting his little sister to come over to him because he wanted to hug her, knowing what his present had evoked.

She stood up then and made her way over to him, hugging him around the waist.

"Do they know?" she whispered to him.

"No," he replied.

Edward knew what she was talking about without having to read her thoughts, because his ability was still blocked and it would be a matter of days until he would be able to read minds again.

Since the keyboard was a present from her parents and he had certainly advised them to get it for her, she wanted to know if he had told them about her memories.

Maddie's father had taught her how to play when she was very young. They had had an old piano, which her father had gotten from his father, who had gotten it from his father. It was supposed to be hers one day, that's what he had always told her.

But when he died, she had never played again, because she just couldn't.

Music is supposed to help you deal with a grievous loss, but Maddie was sure that the sound of just a single key would have done nothing to ease the sorrow and pain that tore her apart internally, but make it more excruciating instead.

But just because she hadn't played anymore, didn't mean she had stopped liking piano music - it still sounded beautiful to her.

And she had cherished their old piano so, so much. She had dusted it off everyday and even bought new sheet music in hopes it would motivate her to play again, but it had never happened because she was inwardly disintegrated. Not an easy feeling for an eight-year-old to deal with.

The worst memory concerning that piano however, was when she came home from school one day and it was gone. Her Mom's new husband had sold it, saying she didn't play so it was useless and needed to go. It was _her_ piano, a family heirloom, and he had sold it like it was of no value.

Maybe Edward was right, Maddie thought.

Maybe it was time for her to try and play again, even though she had probably unlearnt everything.

But she could learn to play again ... and play without anyone overhearing. Besides, it was a keyboard and not an old piano, so it was like a completely different music instrument, right?

Nodding to Edward that she appreciated he had kept it a secret, Maddie then loosened the embrace.

"Ey, Tiny!" Emmett shouted, and even before she could turn around, he added, "Catch!"

She caught the wrapped gift that he had flung her way with one hand.

"Ooopen," he said as if in slow-motion when she just stared at him like a deer in headlights.

_Why did he chose that moment?_

Easy, because he didn't want to see her sad or unusually quiet on this day. And his present would definitely cheer her up, because he was fabulous at picking out presents.

Sitting down on the armrest next to Emmett, she then unwrapped it and her eyes widened in surprise for a second.

"Em," she smirked, "is that why you took mine?"

It was her favourite zombie movie, which she just lost to her eldest brother for the simple reason that he had eaten the damn gingerbread they had made. She had actually counted on him to not eat it since it was human food _and_ the cookie looked like the gingerbread man from Shrek. You _do not_ eat the gingerbread man from Shrek! But Emmett obviously did not have a heart because he had heartlessly bitten the head off and munched away.

"This is the double-disc edition with bonus material. It's better than yours."

Turning it around to read what was included, her head shot up again and she asked excitedly, "Can we watch it now? Please?"

"Later," Emmett told her. He would love to watch it now, but he was dead certain that the rest of the family wouldn't deem a movie like this one appropriate for Christmas.

She looked longingly between the TV and the DVD, but then nodded her head with a sigh.

Making her way to the coffee table to put her new movie there, she then sat on the floor again, thinking about who should get the next gift from her.

"I have something for you, Edward," Maddie then remarked with a smirk that could be interpreted as playful ... or wicked.

She crawled over to the tree, snatched a little present up and handed it over her shoulder to her brother.

"I have to admit that your smirk disturbs me," he commented, but then smiled and unwrapped it.

Maddie couldn't help but laugh when she saw his face.

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, chuckling.

"Emmett said it wouldn't be mean," Maddie said with puppy dog eyes.

It was a CD she bought ... the same one they had fought about a while ago. But what made this gift so special was the fact that she had taped a severed plastic finger onto the cover.

"You know I am sorry about what happened back then."

"Sure, and my finger is fine." She grinned and wiggled her index finger in the air for him to see. There was a very thin scar at the base of her finger, all around it, but Maddie didn't mind because it didn't hurt. And Carlisle said that humans wouldn't be able to see vampire scars like they did, so it was okay.

And then Maddie decided it was time to give her parents a present. She still wasn't sure if it was a good idea, because it wasn't special. She hadn't bought it, it wasn't of any value. But it was dear to her heart and she had the urge to share it with them.

It made her a little nervous thinking about how they would react, but as long as they wouldn't laugh at her or tell her it was stupid, it would be fine.

"Mom? Dad?" Maddie asked while approaching her parents. She was hugging a present to her chest and bit her lip, not able to fully hide the anxiety she was feeling right then.

They looked at her, her father still had his arm around her mother's shoulders, who had a hand on her Dad's knee. They really looked cute together.

"This is for you, but it's okay if you don't like it," she said shyly, holding the present out for them to take.

"Nonsense, sweetie, I am sure we'll love it." Carlisle replied.

Maddie looked like she found his answer weird. "Why?"

"Because it is a gift from you." Esme said lovingly. Who could ever dislike a gift coming from one's own children?

She nodded, then gave it to her Mom.

Esme smiled when she, together with her husband, unwrapped it.

At first they frowned, because neither of them knew what it was.

It looked like a diary in petrol and purple, a dark satin ribbon around it. The back of it had been bend many times, it was clearly visible.

"It's my memory book," Maddie said when their expressions did not change.

Tanya gave it to her when she had moved in with them years ago. She had told Maddie that human memories would fade, and that maybe she could write down her happy memories so they would never leave her. It had been a little hard at first to really remember, to push the bad memories aside to make room for the long forgotten happy ones.

But she had managed.

Memories of her childhood, her parents and relatives, birthdays, whatever she could remember - she wrote it all down. But she had mainly drawn pictures of everything and everybody. The only thing that pained her was that she wasn't sure if the pictures of her father were accurate, even though she had tried so hard to remember every detail. Maybe she would ask Edward one day.

They lifted their heads and looked at her with wide eyes.

"You have a memory book?" Carlisle asked carefully.

"Uh-huh," she replied and sounded a little embarrassed. An uncomfortable feeling made itself known in the pit of her stomach and she squirmed a little.

Esme shook her head lightly. "Sweetie, why are you giving it to us?"

And Maddie looked down ... so it had been a stupid idea. Why had she ever blocked Edward's gift? He could have warned her. She just wanted to share her memories with them so they could get to know her better if they wanted to, but they clearly didn't want that.

The more she thought about what she had just done, the more a feeling of humiliation bloomed inside of her.

"Maddie, come here," Carlisle said softly when she didn't answer.

She took a step closer to them, and he grasped her by the hand, squeezing it in encouragement.

"I want you to read it," she told them hesitantly.

Esme tapped the top of the book. "But this is personal, dear, we couldn't-"

"Yes, you can. I want you to." Maddie's voice was louder now.

Carlisle put his other hand on top of Maddie's. "Why do you want us to read your private memories?"

"Because I trust you," she replied with a tiny shrug of her shoulders. There was no other explanation - she wanted them to read it, so they would know a little bit more about her. And she knew that they wouldn't tell anyone about her memories. They were her parents, after all.

The short, awkward silence was broken by Esme. "Aw, baby, come here," she cooed, handed Carlisle the book and hugged Maddie the moment she was close enough to her.

She pulled her to sit on her lap, hugging her even more.

Maddie was a little confused, but she didn't have the feeling anymore that they thought it was ridiculous.

When she pulled away, she saw that her Mom had tears in her eyes.

"I made you cry?" Maddie asked bashfully.

"Sweetheart, this is a beautiful Christmas present," Esme managed to say and cupped her cheek.

That relieved Maddie and she smiled. The nervousness she had felt before vanished into thin air and she gave her mother a peck on the cheek before skipping over to Alice who just called her name.

Carlisle wasn't sure if Maddie really understood why Esme reacted the way she had. He wasn't even sure if she understood what she had just done.

It was very sweet of his daughter to be willing to share her memories with them, but her words were the reason why Esme was moved to tears. Maddie said she trusted them and they could feel that she really meant it, and that was the best present ever.

The family exchanged more presents and when Esme and Alice suddenly walked towards the entrance door, Maddie looked up.

"What are you doing?" she asked, frowning.

It confused her that they would leave the room just like that, and it confused her even more that nobody else seemed to notice.

"They are just getting another present," Jasper told her, then threw are present towards her. "Here unwrap this."

Hm.

So Maddie just shrugged and ripped the paper off the present.

But when she felt a hand rub her shoulder and noticed an all too familiar smell, she whipped her head around and gasped.

"What? Are you just going to gape at me or do I get a hug?" Tanya asked with a smirk.

Maddie jumped up and threw her arms around her.

_This was Tanya, she was really here. But why?_

"You lied! You said -," she started to say in a rush, but got immediately interrupted by an index finger on her lips.

"Little one, I said we wouldn't be _home_ for Christmas. And we are not, or does this look like Alaska to you?"

Yeah ... okay, Maddie should learn to listen closely. But this was obviously meant as a surprise, so either way, Tanya wouldn't have told her that she was going to be visiting them.

"Merry Christmas, baby."

She was all smiles and leaned into Tanya, but suddenly pulled away when she realised something.

"_We_?" she asked, repeating the term Tanya had used.

Tanya smirked, so Maddie looked over to the front door that was still open.

She squealed when she saw who stood there leaning against the doorframe, smiling at her.

Darting from the room, she then jumped right into Eleazar's arms, her arms flung around his neck and her legs around his waist - she looked like a little baby monkey.

"Por fin te veo, niña." He laughed in response to her enthusiasm and hugged her tightly, patting the back of her head.

"Dónde está Carmen?" Maddie asked while being set down on her feet again a few moments later.

"Te manda saludos," he replied and Maddie's face fell.

"Anda ya." Carmen entered, slapped him lightly on the arm and hugged a surprised looking Maddie.

"Cuánto has crecido!" Carmen said when she pulled away again and looked Maddie over.

Ha, so both were in a happy joking mood.

"Ya lo creo!" Maddie replied and grinned. She knew they were speaking Spanish with her to check if she could still understand it. They had taught her, after all, to keep her busy while she couldn't leave the house. And because they wanted her to speak Spanish, of course.

Kate and Irina came in next after having parked the car, and everybody greeted each other.

* * *

><p>"... and this, Maddie, is for you," Tanya said and handed Maddie a present. "It's from all of us."<p>

Maddie was last, but they did that on purpose. And because Maddie wanted to give them her presents first.

She had already made up a parcel with gifts for the Denalis a week ago and gave it to Alice so she could send it to Alaska. But all Alice did was hide it, because she knew they would be here for Christmas.

So now Maddie sat on the couch Indian style and felt the present. It seemed to be a book and when she had finally unwrapped it she saw that it was indeed a book.

"A picture book of Iceland?" Maddie asked and looked puzzled. She had never been to Iceland and she knew nothing about that country, so she had no clue why they would give her a book about it.

"Maybe you should open it," Kate, who was sitting on the armchair across from Maddie, suggested and raised an eyebrow.

That was a good idea actually, so Maddie opened the book and gasped.

"Flight tickets? We're going to Iceland?" she suddenly squealed, her face lit up instantly at the prospect.

"We haven't seen you for a while and so we thought it would be nice to take you on a little trip," Tanya smiled.

That was crazy ... Maddie hadn't expected to see them for Christmas. Heck, she hadn't expected to see them until Easter! But now her family was here, every single one of them. And she would even fly to a different country! She would see something completely new and she was so excited that she had no words to describe what she felt right then.

This definitely was the best Christmas ever. Everybody was here, chatting away, enjoying the beautiful atmosphere and, of course, having the whole family together.

And nobody fought! It was like Christmas made them high or something, because each and every one of them was relaxed and happy.

Oh dear ... Maddie started whining when she saw Emmett getting his camcorder. Nope, he didn't want to use it but instead connect it to the TV to show their relatives Maddie's school event from the day before.

She pleaded with him to put her new DVD into the player instead, but the Denalis were excited about Emmett's suggestion and insisted on watching the play which they had unfortunately missed.

Funny enough, her mood changed the moment she saw the first scene where a girl was wearing her costume the wrong way ... then another girl nearly falling off the stage. So when the part came where she was singing, she didn't mind anymore, because she was busy laughing at everything ... and Valerie. Revenge is so sweet, especially when nobody knows who's behind it.

They tried the trampoline next, and it was so much fun.

Tanya absolutely loved the trampoline, maybe even more that Emmett or Maddie. Sometimes she could be quite childish for a thousand year old vampire.

And then, suddenly, the first snowflakes started falling.

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><p><strong>Phew!<strong>

**I hope you are not mad that I focussed on the presents. I know Christmas is not about presents, but I only described a few hours, kay? **

**And I hope the Spanish part was more or less correct. My ****Spanish is quite shitty because I got kicked out so please bear with me.**

**But ... did you like this chapter?**

**REVIEW! **


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